Agencies-Gaza post
Russia FM heads to Iran for talks
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was expected in Iran on Wednesday for talks on increasing trade and energy cooperation as the two countries grapple with Western economic sanctions.
Tehran and Moscow both have huge reserves of oil and gas, but are bound by sanctions that limit their ability to export their production.
“Lavrov will meet with our foreign minister (Hossein Amir-Abdollahian) tomorrow (Thursday),” said the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
Russia was hit by sanctions following February’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, while the Iranian economy faltered from heavy sanctions re-imposed by the United States in 2018 following Washington’s withdrawal from a nuclear deal between Tehran and the major powers.
Russia played a key role in that deal, taking over Iran’s excess enriched uranium stocks beyond those permitted by the deal.
It was part of the stumbling block in talks between Iran and the powers to revive the 2015 agreement with the renewed participation of the United States.
Negotiations have been stalled since March due to strong differences between Tehran and Washington over US sanctions that would be lifted in exchange for Iran’s return to full compliance with agreed limits on its nuclear activities.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Moscow in January and said he presented his counterpart Vladimir Putin with draft documents on strategic cooperation that would strengthen collaboration for the next two decades.
In late May, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak visited Tehran to head a large delegation after the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent global oil and gas prices skyrocketing.
Source: here
