From PressTV: China and Russia have congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his re-election as he attends a regional summit in Russia.
“The heads of SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] member states congratulated Ahmadinejad on his re-election,” Kremlin spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said.
Ahmadinejad and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao also met and ‘exchanged views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern’, Xinhua reported.
Ahmadinejad’s meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was very brief as he delayed his trip to Russia for one day after protests in Tehran erupted over the hotly contested election in which Ahmadinejad was declared victor by a landslide.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister said the election was an ‘internal affair of Iran’ and added, “We welcome the fact that elections took place, we welcome the … president on Russian soil and see it as symbolic that he made his first visit to Russia. This allows hope for progress in bilateral relations.”
In an address to the summit, Ahmadinejad said the new world order should be less centered on the US policies.
“Washington’s many political and economic woes show that its judgment can no longer be trusted,” he said.
Iran has observer status in SCO, which groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
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