The Iranian side discussed the conclusion of a long-term cooperation agreement during talks in Tehran with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told about this on Thursday at a press conference following the meeting.
"Among the issues that were discussed is a long-term strategic agreement," he said. - We hope that expert consultations will take place to finalize this document".
The Iranian side proposed at talks with Lavrov to abolish visas with Russia for business representatives, Abdollahian said.
"Cooperation between the two countries on the issue of visa abolition was discussed. Iran is ready to abolish visas between the two countries," he said. - As a first step, we discussed visa waiver for businessmen in order to increase trade interaction".
The Minister also added that "among the issues that were discussed was a long-term strategic agreement". "We hope that expert consultations will take place to finalise this document," the Iranian Foreign Minister said. He noted that "the meeting went well, during which the parties reached understanding on cooperation in trade and technology, as well as on railway projects, including work on the [railway] Resht-Astara".
The Agreement on Foundations of Relations and Principles of Cooperation between Russia and Iran was signed in March 2001 and was automatically renewed every five years. On 24 September 2020, during a visit to Moscow, then Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that before the next extension, the Iranian side intended to consider ways of updating the document to reflect current realities.
Lavrov arrived in Tehran on Wednesday as part of an official two-day visit. The Minister was received by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on the first day and held talks with the Iranian Foreign Minister on the second day.
Position on the IAEA
Tehran thanks Moscow and Beijing for their stance during the vote on the resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, Abdollahian said.
"We thank China and Russia for opposing the resolution put forward in the IAEA at the initiative of the US and three European countries (Britain, France and Germany - TASS note)," he said.
Iran-Russia-Turkey summit
The Iranian side hopes that Iran-Russia-Turkey summit will be organized in Tehran soon, Abdollahian said.
"We hope that soon <...> there will be a meeting of the heads of Russia, Turkey and Iran in Tehran," he said.
Security in the South Caucasus and the Middle East
Lavrov said he had discussed security issues in the Transcaucasus, Afghanistan and Yemen during talks with the Foreign Minister of Iran.
"We talked about the situation in the Transcaucasus, Afghanistan and Yemen. We have a lot of possibilities of influence and contact between Russia and Iran on all these conflicts for a sustainable settlement, for normalization of the situation," he said on Thursday at a press conference following the talks with his Iranian counterpart.
Lavrov added that the parties reaffirmed their commitment to stabilize the situation in the Persian Gulf region. "Russia, as you know, has introduced and continues to promote the concept of collective security in this important region of the world, and [we are] ready to facilitate the establishment of an appropriate dialogue between Arab countries and the Islamic Republic of Iran," the Minister concluded.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS