Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in a meeting with the Russian President's Envoy to the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit Konstantin Shuvalov reiterated that strong relations between Tehran and Moscow will reinvigorate peace and stability in the region.

"Expansion and development of ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia can help to the consolidation and reinvigoration of peace and stability on regional and international scenes," Larijani said during the meeting on Saturday.

"The two countries share abundant common interests and views in major international issues, and this can form a basis for the fruitful and constructive cooperation," he added.

Shuvalov, for his part, described the two countries' views over different major international issues as close, and underlined the necessity for continued consultations between the Iranian and Russian officials.

Iran and Russia are two strong neighboring countries which enjoy a special position in the international arena and have constant and continued consultations on key regional and global issues.

Shuvalov, an ambassador-at-large, led the Russian delegation to the 16th NAM summit in Tehran.

Speaking to FNA upon arrival at in Tehran on Monday, Shuvalov underlined the crucial and influential role of the NAM, and added, "We hope that NAM member states embark on resolving the existing problems based on their ideology and raison d'être."

Asked how likely would be a consensus among the NAM member states over various global issues, specially the resolution of the Syrian crisis, he said, "This issue should be left to Iran as the host and president of the movement."

"But putting this initiative into action would be a positive step."

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.
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News ID 182583