TEHERAN - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasized on Monday the need to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Russia to counter the West's "cruel" sanctions.

Pezeshkian made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Teheran, urging the two sides to accelerate the implementation of joint projects, according to a statement published on his office's website.

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He added that the exchange of diplomatic delegations between Iran and Russia would help expand bilateral interactions and relations, calling for regional cooperation within the frameworks of international mechanisms.

For his part, the Russian prime minister expressed his country's willingness to increase interactions with Iran, especially in energy, industry, transportation, agriculture, health and treatment, and culture.

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Mishustin hailed the "very good" growth in bilateral trade exchanges over the past few months, stressing that the two countries still had great capacities for safeguarding mutual interests.

He highlighted the necessity to promote cooperation between Russia and Iran, inviting the Iranian president to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia and sign "the Moscow-Teheran comprehensive strategic agreement."