Putin congratulates Rohani, ready to boost ties

Putin congratulates Rohani, ready to boost ties
Sun Jun 16, 2013 17:08:07

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Iran’s President-elect Hassan Rohani on his victory in the country's 11th presidential election, announcing readiness to expand bilateral relations with Tehran.

"Putin expressed confidence that Hassan Rohani's work on this high post will promote the flourishing of (Russia’s) friend Iran and further strengthen Russian-Iranian relations," a Kremlin message to Iran’s president-elect said on Sunday.

"The Russian President also confirmed his readiness to advance the development of mutually-beneficial cooperation with Iran in various fields, in the interests of regional security and international stability," the statement added.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, other Iranian officials as well as authorities from several other countries have also extended their congratulations to Rohani over his victory.

Nearly 50.5 million Iranians, including more than 1.6 million first-time voters, were eligible to participate in the June 14 presidential, and city and village council elections. The Interior Ministry put the voter turnout at 72.7 percent.

Rohani won Iran’s 11th presidential election by securing 18,613,329 votes, or 50.70 percent, of a total of 36,704,156 ballots counted.

Rohani currently represents Ayatollah Khamenei in the Supreme National Security Council, and is a member of the Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts. He is also the director of the Expediency Council's Center for Strategic Research.

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