Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has sent warm greetings to the nonaligned summit in Tehran vowing to step up cooperation with the movement.
Hailing the NAM’s “signal contribution to the strengthening of trust and stability worldwide”, Mr. Putin said:
“We are ready to further expand interaction with the Nonaligned Movement in the interests of peace and prosperity. I wish you every success and fruitful work.”
Russia, which enjoys a “guest” status in NAM, has sent its Ambassador-at-large Konstantin Shuvalov to the Tehran conference.
Mr. Putin’s greetings came in stark contrast with the denunciation of the Tehran summit in Washington. The State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland condemned the choice of Tehran as “strange” and “inappropriate”. The U.S. conveyed its “concern” to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over his decision to attend the NAM summit.
