Mohammad Javad Zarif received his Lithuanian counterpart Mr. Linas Linkevicius on Saturday in Tehran and discussed with him regional and bilateral issues of interest, especially yet ongoing restrictions on banking transactions with Tehran which had paralyzed trade with Iran during sanctions.
Zarif expressed hopes that Lithuania and Iran could promote political and parliamentary relations through diplomatic delegations between two capitals; “Iranian financial firms welcome promoting ties with Lithuania in technology, energy, oil and gas, LNG, agriculture, higher education, and engineering services to open new chapters in bilateral relations,” he told the meeting.
He raised Iran’s grievances about the still ongoing nature of restrictions despite the latest steps taken by the 5+1 in recent meeting in London between British and the US officials; “we expect EU firms and banks ease further the restrictions on interaction with Iranian banks, since the London meeting predicted some positive steps to revive trade with Iran; we want to see concrete outcomes of such decisions with EU joining the movement,” Zarif emphasized.
Zarif then turned to Syrian crisis, reiterating Iran’s principled policy of respecting Syrian territorial integrity and public will; “proposing unrealistic plans and comprehensive support for terrorist groups by some of countries in the region had weakened the peace efforts and will exacerbate the political process toward pandemonium,” he added.
Mr. Linkevicius for his part evaluated his country’s ties with Iran as positive; “we welcome broader economic and trade ties with Tehran and our economic firms would hail deepening relations with Iran in diverse fields as technology to energy and agriculture; Iran plays a crucial role in the region and we welcome increased level of diplomatic exchanges and improved parliamentary ties as well as broader ties in cultural issues,” he concluded.
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