Russian and Iranian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Mohammad Javad Zarif will hold talks in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss bilateral relations, regional security challenges and the situation in Syria. The Iranian Minister will be one of the first foreign guests of the head of the Russian diplomatic service: in recent months, against the background of the coronavirus pandemic, Lavrov's communication with foreign colleagues took place mainly in the format of video conferences and telephone conversations.
Prior to this, Lavrov and Zarif contacted in late April by phone, then one of the main topics of conversation was the coordination of efforts in the fight against the coronavirus infection.
Earlier, Russian and Iranian presidents Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani agreed to direct contacts between the two countries' Health Ministries on this issue. Russia also provided humanitarian assistance to Iran by supplying 500 test systems to the Islamic Republic. At the same time, Moscow supported Tehran not only in deeds but also in words, stating the damage caused by anti-Iranian US sanctions in the context of the pandemic. It is possible that the topic of interaction in the fight against the pandemic may be raised again at today's talks, especially since a significant number of infected people are still registered in Iran.
On the routes of Astana
On the eve of his visit to Moscow, Zarif visited Turkey, which together with Russia and Iran makes up the Astana Troika. According to the press service of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the parties Ankara discussed holding a meeting of the presidents of the three countries in the next few weeks in the format of a video conference.
As expected, Lavrov and Zarif can discuss the preparation of such a summit, as well as the possibility of a face-to-face meeting of the presidents in Tehran, as previously planned.
The Foreign Ministers of the Astana format themselves held a teleconference at the end of April, during which, in particular, they declared the need for efforts to separate the moderate opposition in Idlib from the terrorists. At the same time, the topic of holding a meeting of the editorial Commission of the Constitutional Committee of Syria was also touched upon, as soon as the epidemiological situation allows.
The nuclear deal and US sanctions
One of the main topics of the talks between Lavrov and Zarif will be the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program (JCPOA), which continues to be attacked by the United States, which withdrew from the agreement in the spring of 2018. So, at the end of May, it became known that Washington stops introducing temporary exceptions to the sanctions regime that allow Iran to receive assistance from the countries participating in the JCPOA in the field of peaceful development of the atom. This directly affects the heavy water reactor in Arak, which Iran, with the support of other countries, was supposed to rebuild to conduct nuclear research for peaceful purposes. At the same time, the United States decided to extend the exemption from sanctions against the Bushehr NPP for another 90 days.
In this regard, the Director of the Second Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov told TASS that such steps by Washington against Tehran were "a vicious practice". As for the Bushehr NPP, the diplomat pointed out, Moscow relies on bilateral agreements with Tehran and international law, and the Russian side is "not interested in the domestic legislation of any third party."
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova also stressed that the participants of the JCPOA (Russia, Great Britain, Germany, China, France) remained in contact at all levels on the implementation of the agreements.
The US also persists in its intention to seek an extension of the arms embargo against Iran, which expires on October 18, 2020. Moscow intends to prevent such plans of Washington. In particular, Russian Foreign Minister sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in which he stated that there were no objective grounds for discussing the extension of the arms embargo against Iran in the UN Security Council.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry