Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko and Director General of International Legal Affairs of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Seyed Ali Mousavi met in Moscow, where they called for the further expansion of the legal framework of bilateral relations in line with the comprehensive strategic partnership, TASS reported.
Iran’s interim Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said earlier that Tehran and Moscow had serious intentions of expanding their cooperation in several domains.
Bagheri Kani, in an interview on June 12 on the sidelines of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, pointed out that Iran and Russia were two neighboring countries with historical relations.
“In the past years, the relations between the two countries have increased and also the two countries share similar challenges and threats, promoting several opportunities for cooperation,” he said.
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed Moscow’s commitment to finalize a comprehensive long-term cooperation agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran, stating, “Moscow is dedicated to concluding this memorandum with Tehran.”
In a press conference following the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Lavrov stated that the draft of the agreement had been agreed upon but still has to be signed by both countries’ presidents.
He added that the signing of the agreement would need to go through some formal protocols to be finalized.
He assured that the signing of this document would elevate Tehran-Moscow relations to a very new stage. “As soon as the stages I mentioned are implemented in Iran, we can do this,” he said.
In another announcement, the spokesman for the Russian President’s office, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed in a press conference that work on the comprehensive strategic agreement between Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran would continue.
He acknowledged potential delays due to Iran’s upcoming presidential election and internal processes but stressed that these would not alter the fundamental direction of the negotiations.
He added that Russia intended to further develop its relations with Iran and accordingly upgrade the legal framework between the two countries.
SD/PR