Russia and Iran intend to prepare an intergovernmental agreement in the sphere of biological security, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a press conference following talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"As a follow-up to our steps to strengthen the legal and treaty framework, we agreed to prepare another intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the sphere of biological security, which is becoming increasingly relevant at a time when threats in this area are growing and there are no verification mechanisms that would allow all countries to be transparent in this area, since our American colleagues are categorically against creating such a multilateral universal mechanism within the Biological Safety Convention," Lavrov said.
"Therefore, we and our Iranian friends, as well as many of our other partners, believe it is necessary to move forward through bilateral channels in order to ensure transparency in this very important area," the minister added.
He noted that Moscow and Tehran positively assessed contacts between the two countries along the lines of special services and military departments. "We welcomed the close coordination between various agencies in key areas of the Russian-Iranian multifaceted partnership. We positively assessed contacts along the lines of special services and military departments," Lavrov said.
The minister added that Russia is ready to continue helping Iran in the fight against the pandemic, including by organizing the production of Sputnik V in Tehran. "We analyzed the efforts of specialized structures of our countries to counteract the coronavirus infection. More than 500,000 two-component doses [of the vaccine] Sputnik V have been delivered to Iran. This vaccine has proved its effectiveness, as our Iranian friends confirmed to us today. We are ready to continue helping our neighbors in the fight against the pandemic, including by organizing production of this vaccine in Iran," Lavrov said.
The first batch of Sputnik V arrived in Tehran on February 4, and free voluntary vaccination against coronavirus using the Russian drug began in Iran on February 9. On April 1, the fifth batch of vaccine arrived in the Iranian capital.
Impact on the oil market
Russia hopes that the possible lifting of sanctions on Iran's oil sector will have a positive impact on the global oil market. "Regarding the impact - positive, we hope - of the negotiations in Vienna [on the nuclear deal] on the oil market, when more Iranian oil will appear on the market if sanctions are lifted, and the question of how this will affect OPEC+ efforts, I will answer in a principled way. Of course, the policy should be based on the economy, it should help to solve economic problems of this or that country, but only by legal methods, on the basis of international law, WTO norms and principles, principles of free trade," the Minister said, answering the question whether the possible removal of oil sanctions from Iran would undermine the balance in the global oil market, which was achieved thanks to the OPEC+ agreement.
The minister stressed that economic benefits cannot be achieved by illegal methods. "When a policy is built to achieve economic benefits through illegal unilateral sanctions, in direct violation of the UN Security Council resolution, in violation of the norms and principles of the WTO, we categorically condemn such a policy," Lavrov added.
On November 5, 2018, the US renewed sanctions against Iran in full, including restrictions on the sale of hydrocarbons. As a result, Iran's oil exports plummeted and, according to an estimate by New York-based Kpler Inc. in May 2020, were a record low 100,000 barrels per day, down from 2.5 million barrels per day before sanctions in April 2018. However, in September 2020, Reuters reported a surge in oil exports from Iran, figures that could reach 1.5 million barrels per day.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS