Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi stated on Monday that North Korea's nuclear test carried out earlier in the day was an "internal affair". He refused to condemn this test. It should be noted that relations between Iran and North Korea under president Kim Jong Il have been warm. Western intelligence reports claim the two countries maintain close military cooperation.
Meanwhile, Qashqavi added that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is probably to visit Russia in June. According to IRNA, he added that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has invited his Iranian counterpart to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 15-16.
Russia, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are the SCO member states while Iran, India and Mongolia are the observer countries.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
