Russia, which is building Iran’s first nuclear reactor, maintains friendly relations with the Islamic republic. Vladimir Putin, Medvedev’s predecessor, visited Ahmadinejad in Tehran in October 2007.

“The end of the age of empires is near,” Ahmadinejad told leaders of the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The U.S. and its allies are incapable of solving the global financial crisis, he said. Ahmadinejad canceled a press conference scheduled for after his speech.

“We welcome the newly elected president of Iran on Russian soil,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said after Ahmadinejad arrived this morning. “It’s extremely symbolic that his first foreign visit after his re-election was made to Russia.”

The disputed election is an “internal affair of the Iranian people,” Ryabkov said.

Russia is hosting back-to-back summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the BRIC nations.

The Shanghai group includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Iran has observer status. The Bric nations are Brazil, Russia, India and China. 

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