Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced he is to meet on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron upon his arrival to Stockholm on Monday evening
Javad Zarif is on a three-nation tour to Nordic countries to hold high-level talks with the European country’s senior officials on a host of bilateral as well as international issues, Iranian media reported.
From Sweden, Zarif will continue his trip to Norway and France, as announced.
On Monday, he met with his Finnish counterpart and the Finnish Minister for Development, Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari in Helsinki.
In a post on his Twitter account, Zarif said he has held “fruitful meetings” with senior Finnish officials to discuss “what EU needs to do to save the JCPOA and protect its interest in freedom of navigation.”
Zarif announced that although he is still under sanction, there was no pressure on him and the US sanctions are not exerting any pressure on Iran’s FM to get his job done.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif said that Iran is trying to maintain its security in every possible way underscoring that the progress of Iran is in the hands of Iranians, not in that of the foreign powers.
“We are indebted to all those who have earned honor for our country,” he said, referring not only to those who have fought in the war for their country, but also to all those who have been under pressure for many years.
“Iran has proved that it can both resist and negotiate and it does not break its promises,” he added.
Addressing the European established mechanism for trade with Iran, Zarif said, “INSTEX may not be a cure for the problems in the short term and in the long run it will raise some concern for Europe”.
“INSTEX has some problems; first of all, money must be injected into the mechanism. It must be supplied from Iranian oil revenues or credit equivalent to Iranian oil. The next problem is that INSTEX cannot be just a tool for humanitarian purposes, it should not to be limited to food and medicine,” he added.
Source: Iranian media
