Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over his re-election in the June 12 presidential vote.

In a message on Monday, the Russian leader expressed hope that Ahmadinejad's reelection would further strengthen the already strong ties between Tehran and Moscow.

The Iranian president was due in Russia to attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

Medvedev plans to meet Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the summit to discuss bilateral ties and Iran's nuclear program, according to a Kremlin source.

Iran has observer status at the SCO, which groups Russia, China and four Central Asian states.

Besides Russia and China, the SCO groups the ex-Soviet Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. In addition to Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan and India have observer status

AGB/DT