TEHRAN, Dec. 20 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif paid tribute to the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov Tuesday, ahead of talks with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Russian delegation in Moscow.

After paying tribute to Russia's ambassador to Turkey shot dead in front of a crowd at a posh art gallery in the capital Ankara, Zarif and the accompanying delegation, including Iran's Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei, kicked off talks with Russian delegation.

Before the bilateral meeting, Zarif conveyed Iranians' condolence to the nation, government of Turkey and family of the assassinated ambassador and said the Iranian people stand beside the people of Russia in the fight against terrorism.

He stressed that Iran and Russia stand on the top of counter-terrorism approach, which may pave the way for a stable ceasefire in Syria.

Pointing to the growing trend of cooperation between the two countries, Zarif stated that bilateral talks headed by the presidents of the two countries are on the path of inclusive development and yesterday's phone conversation between President Rouhani and Putin was according to the same cooperation framework.

Turkey-Iran-Russia trilateral meeting kicked off at 13:30 on Tuesday, simultaneous with the meeting of defense ministers of the two countries with a focus on increasing regional integration.

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