Russia reached understanding with Turkey to ensure the security of vessels carrying Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea. The entire problem is Kiev's unwillingness to clear its own ports. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this on Thursday at a press conference following a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
Lavrov thanked Tehran for its "absolutely correct understanding" of the situation in Ukraine - it is an attempt by the US and its allies to ensure "Perpetual domination". The Minister called Washington's policy on the Iranian nuclear deal "absolutely inconsistent" and assured that Moscow would seek to restore the agreement.
TASS has compiled the main statements by the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Iran.
On Ukraine and sanctions
Russia appreciates Iran's "absolutely correct understanding" of the events in Ukraine and is convinced that the overwhelming majority of countries in the world understand the current situation perfectly well," Lavrov said. According to him, this is an attempt by the US and its allies to ensure for themselves "full-fledged perpetual domination", which contradicts "the trend of shaping a multipolar world order".
Besides, both parties condemned the "unacceptable practice of unilateral sanctions". As Abdollahian reiterated, Tehran opposes Western restrictions against Moscow.
On the grain problem
The Russian Minister emphasized that there was no connection between the Russian military operation and the food crisis and called attempts to "make a universal tragedy" out of the situation with Ukrainian grain "absolutely untidy": "Now it is important to force Ukrainians to release foreign ships <...> and not to try to make this problem a maneuver that distracts from failures and mistakes of the West itself in international politics, in food and fertilizer trade".
According to Lavrov, Moscow is ready to guarantee safe passage of vessels with grain from Ukraine to the Bosporus: "We have an understanding with Turkey on this issue". At the same time, the initiative to organize some kind of international coalition to export grain is aimed solely at "interference in the affairs of the Black Sea region under the auspices of the UN," the Minister said.
His Iranian counterpart noted that Tehran had taken measures and was not worried about food security at home, and urged Moscow and Kiev to start negotiations as soon as possible.
On Iran's nuclear program
Russia, together with the other parties to the Iranian nuclear deal, is making every effort to bring the United States back into the agreement and to get the sanctions against Iran that contradict it lifted, Lavrov assured.
According to him, Washington is "totally inconsistent" on international issues, including the deal, in an attempt to distract voters from domestic issues. At the same time, the Minister noted, a year ago, the United States itself tried to blame Russia for the problems with the restoration of the agreement: "That was, to put it mildly, untrue. And everyone understands that very well".
Iran continues to pursue the diplomatic path "because it is the right one" and calls on the US to "show a realistic approach", Abdollahian said.
On the Tehran Summit
Iran expects the leaders of the Islamic Republic, Russia and Turkey to meet soon in its capital. As the Iranian Minister specified, "this summit will take the form of bilateral meetings on the one hand and the Astana format on the other".
On Russian-Iranian relations
According to Lavrov, the relations between Moscow and Tehran have reached the highest point in their history, but there remains potential for further progress. In particular, the Minister specified, there are good prospects in the energy sphere, and within the OPEC+ framework "there is full agreement <...> on the need to safeguard Iran's interests in its future activities".
In addition, the parties are now working on a comprehensive agreement proposed by Tehran, which will define the prospects for strategic cooperation between the parties over the next 20 years. "Today we have agreed that experts should agree on this important new document as soon as possible," Lavrov noted.
Iran is ready to abolish visas between the two countries, the first step could be a visa-free regime for businessmen, Abdollahian said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS