President Putin: Russia will do everything to continue developing relations with Iran

“For our part, we will do everything to ensure that Russian-Iranian relations continue in this way, please convey these words to the Iranian leadership,” Putin said during a meeting with Volodin, who will represent Russia at the funeral of the late President Ebrahim Raisi.

On Monday, Iranian Vice President Mohsen Mansouri confirmed media reports that President Raisi and members of his delegation, including Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, died in a helicopter crash in northwestern Iran. The delegation was returning from a visit to Azerbaijan.

President Putin said that Russia is ready to provide Iran with professional assistance in determining the cause of the helicopter crash if necessary. “If our colleagues (in Iran) have such a need, we are ready to do everything to provide them with professional assistance, expert assistance in determining the true causes of this disaster,” the Russian president said. According to Putin, the late Iranian president Raisi was a reliable partner and could always be sure that bilateral agreements would be implemented.

"Indeed, the death of President Raisi is a great loss, first of all, of course, for Iran, the Iranian people, and I ask you to convey my sincere condolences in connection with this tragedy. Indeed, he was a very reliable partner, a very straightforward, self-confident person, above all a person who followed the national interests. Of course, he was a man of his word, and it was an honor to cooperate with him, if we agreed on something, we could always be sure that the agreements would be implemented," Putin said.

Meanwhile, commenting on the plane crash that killed President Raisi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on May 21 criticized the sanctions imposed by the US for undermining aviation safety.

Images from the crash site showed the US-made Bell 212 helicopter carrying President Raisi crashed into the mountaintop, Iranian media reported, although there was no official word on what caused the crash. Iran was a major buyer of Bell helicopters under a deal signed by the Shah before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, although the exact origins of the crashed aircraft remain unclear. Decades of sanctions have made it difficult for Iran to obtain parts or upgrade its aircraft.

Foreign Minister Lavrov attacked: “The Americans deny this, but the fact is that other countries subject to US sanctions do not receive spare parts for American equipment, including in the aviation sector. We are talking about deliberately causing damage to ordinary citizens who use these vehicles, and when spare parts are not provided, this is directly related to the deterioration of the safety level.”