OREANDA-NEWS  Vladimir Putin asked State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin to convey to the Iranian leadership that he expects the development of cooperation between the countries in the same way.

"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," the head of state stressed.

He also noted that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in the helicopter crash, was a reliable partner of Russia, with whom one could always be sure that the agreements would be fulfilled. The Head of State added that Moscow is ready, if necessary, to provide expert assistance to Tehran in identifying the causes of the disaster.

Volodin, in turn, stressed that he was flying to Tehran early tomorrow morning to take part in the farewell ceremony with Raisi. According to him, the Iranian president has done a lot to develop relations between the two countries. The speaker of the State Duma added that he would fulfill Putin's instructions and convey his condolences.

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and other officials crashed on May 19 in the north-west of the country in the Verzegan area. According to the IRNA news agency, the cause of the incident was a technical malfunction.

On the morning of May 20, Iranian Vice President Mohsen Mansouri confirmed reports of the death of the head of state and his delegation. The farewell ceremony and funeral of Ebrahim Raisi will be held on May 23 in Mashhad.
The politicians were returning after a visit to Azerbaijan, where the Iranian president and his counterpart Ilham Aliyev participated in the opening ceremony of the Giz Galasi hydroelectric complex and the commissioning of the Khudaferin hydroelectric complex on the Araks border river.