“The relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Armenia have always been friendly, close and based on mutual interests, and definitely in the future, Tehran’s efforts will focus on deepening relations and improving cooperation in all sectors,” Rohani said in a meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Tehran on Monday.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always expanded interaction with Armenia based on cultural and civilizational commonalities…,” the Iranian president said.

Rohani noted Armenia’s friendly positions adopted vis-à-vis Iran in the international scene.

For his part, Sargsyan underscored two decades of effective and constructive cooperation between Tehran and Yerevan.

Iran has bartered more than 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas with Armenia’s electricity over the past six years.

National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said recently that around 1.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas has been traded with Armenian electricity during the 2007-2012 period.

Last year, the Islamic Republic exchanged some 481 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas with the neighboring country’s electricity, the largest amount of bartering between Iran and Armenia in six years.