Russia and Iran need to establish joint airlines to vastly increase the number of flights between the two countries, Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said in an interview with Izvestia.

"Establishing joint airlines is another direction [of cooperation in the aviation sphere]. As long as we seek to increase tourist exchanges between our countries, installing joint airlines is certainly a must," the Iranian diplomat told the newspaper. He urged efforts for more flights between the two countries, expanding regular air service beyond the two capitals, Moscow and Tehran.

On August 1, Russia and Iran started reciprocal visa-free group trips.