Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday, October 19, at the beginning of a joint press conference with Sergey Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in Tehran, welcomed his Russian counterpart and the accompanying delegation, saying: "We are very pleased to once again host Mr. Lavrov and the Russian diplomatic delegation in Tehran. Today, very important, intensive, and fruitful negotiations were held between the two sides."
Strategic Relations between Iran and Russia
Araghchi emphasized the level of relations between the two countries, stating: "The ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation are strategic ties. A comprehensive and strategic partnership exists between the two countries." He referred to the signing of the "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement" and said that this agreement, especially after the official visit of the two presidents to the Kremlin, has brought relations into a new phase.
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He noted: "In our intensive negotiations today, we had detailed and constructive discussions on the most important issues and regional developments, changes in the international arena, and a wide range of topics of interest within the framework of bilateral relations between Tehran and Moscow." Araghchi also addressed practical solutions for expanding relations and economic, commercial, political, and cultural cooperation between the two countries, stating that economic cooperation is progressing very favorably.
Political and Security Cooperation
Araghchi referred to the ongoing consultations between the two countries in the political sphere and said: "Mutual visits by high-ranking officials and foreign ministers of the two countries and meetings of leaders are among the manifestations of these ongoing interactions." He mentioned the last meeting a few days ago in Turkmenistan on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit and Iran.
The Foreign Minister continued in this press conference: "We have close consultations and cooperation with each other. Today, we discussed issues related to the Persian Gulf, West Asia, the Caucasus, and Europe, negotiations between Iran and the United States, as well as developments in Ukraine." He emphasized that the common view of Iran, Russia, and many other countries is that regional issues do not have military solutions and should be pursued through diplomacy and political solutions.
Araghchi also referred to issues in Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen, stating: "The genocide of Palestinians and the dangerous expansionism of the Zionist regime in the region must be stopped." He pointed to the existing insecurities in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, saying: "This insecurity is a direct result of the military aggression of the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran."
Ismail Baqai, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also announced on Sunday, October 18, the visit of Sergey Lavrov to Tehran, stating that this visit is in line with ongoing Tehran-Moscow consultations and aims to follow up on the implementation of bilateral agreements and consult about regional and international developments.
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