Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian described as successful his meeting with his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov on Monday which mainly focused on the delivery of the S-300 air-defense missile system to Iran.
"The negotiations on the subject have ended in success. I estimate that the S-300 delivery will take place in quite a short time," Amir Abdollahian was quoted by IRNA as telling reporters after the meeting in Moscow on Monday.
"It will be done at the soonest opportunity possible," he added.
The Russian foreign ministry has not confirmed the announcement, but it noted "the importance of maintaining a regular Russian-Iranian dialogue" in a statement on Monday.
Moscow and Tehran signed an $800 million deal in late 2007 on the purchase of S-300 missile systems, but three years later Russia decided not to ship the air defense systems to Iran under the pretext that it was covered by the fourth round of United Nations Security Council sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program. On April 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to lift the ban on the delivery of the systems to Iran.
In the meeting, the officials also conferred on the latest developments in the region and both underlined the necessity of concentrating efforts to help find diplomatic solutions to the crises plaguing Syria and Yemen.
