Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said work to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal has entered the homestretch.
“I am confident that the prospects are even more impressive, considering, among things, that we have entered the homestretch on an agreement to resume the Comprehensive Plan of Action to resolve the situation around the Iranian nuclear program,” Lavrov said, speaking alongside his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian in Moscow on Tuesday.
The Russian foreign minister indicated that the two countries were “preparing new documents designed to formalize” a new level of cooperation.
Already, Lavrov said, notwithstanding “well-known factors” aimed at pressuring the two countries, “our trade turnover is steadily growing at a record pace. Last year it increased by nearly 80 percent, exceeding $4 billion.”
Lavrov also expressed gratitude to Tehran for its “objective position” on the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
“We will discuss further coordination of our actions on the Syrian settlement within the Astana format, other crisis points in the Middle East and North Africa, and also talk about the Afghan settlement, which requires our full attention. I also want to note that we appreciate our confidential dialogue and your objective position on what is happening in Ukraine,” the top Russian diplomat said.
He emphasized that cooperation on international affairs has always been a keystone of ties between Moscow and Tehran.
For his part, Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian said that his discussions with Lavrov would include talks on pursuing the agreements reached between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during Raisi’s visit to Moscow in January, as well as the situation in Ukraine and the new situation in regional and international affairs.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran could not remain indifferent to events in Ukraine, saying that Tehran stands for an end to all conflicts worldwide – whether in Ukraine, Afghanistan or Yemen, and added that the Islamic Republic also condemns the policy of unilateral sanctions. The diplomat also stressed that there was no connection between events in Ukraine and the revival of the JCPOA.
He said that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked him to convey to Lavrov a message that Ukraine is ready to find a political settlement.
“Last night, I had a very lengthy conversation with the Ukrainian foreign minister, and he asked me to convey to Lavrov such a message that Ukraine is in favor of ending the war and concentrating on a political settlement,” Amir Adollahian told reporters
Source: Agencies
