In a joint press conference held on Monday in Baghdad after his meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, "We had very good talks with Mr. Fuad Hussein, and I thank him for his warm hospitality."
"We welcome the pivotal and powerful role of Iraq in the region, and we hope that the role of Iraq in the region will be stronger every day and a role for stability and peace in the region," the Iranian foreign minister added.
"We thank the Iraqi government for its efforts to establish dialogue in the region, and we hope that these efforts will lead to more serious dialogues in the region," Zarif highlighted.
"All of us will always be together in this region and we must build our relations based on friendship, brotherhood and good neighborliness, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs and this is the policy of the Islamic Republic in this region," he added.
The Iranian foreign minister went on to say, "Today we had the opportunity to talk about the nuclear talks between Iran and the P4+1. Of course, the Americans are in Vienna and we do not have a dialogue with the United States. But we had very good talks on the implementation of the JCPOA, and we hope that the new US administration, with a sensible policy and the fulfillment of commitments, will be able to return to the deal more quickly and all parties fulfill their obligations."
"We are ready to fulfill our commitments completely after verification of the US return to its commitments," Zarif added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he described the bilateral relations between Iran and Iraq as very strong and needed by both countries and the region, saying, "We are interested in expanding these relations"
"Today we talked about the various fields of economic relations, energy, transportation and the connection of roads and railways between the two countries," the FM said, adding, "Joint cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the fight against cross-border crimes, drugs, are very important areas for cooperation between the two countries."
"We are two countries that stood together against ISIL. Martyrs Ghasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, both of whom were heroes in the fight against ISIL and were unfortunately martyred in Iraq by an illegal US action, illustrates this point," he noted.
"This relationship that has been established between our two countries will not be broken by anyone, and this relationship between Iran and Iraq will always be expanding," Zarif underlined.
Fuad Hussein, for his part, said, "We discussed important issues in the region with the Iranian Foreign Minister. In the conversation with the Iranian side, we reached important points."
"We are following the talks between the American and Iranian sides in Vienna," he added.
"Foreign Minister Zarif will also travel to Najaf and the Kurdistan Region during his current trip to Iraq," Hussein said.
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