Zarif in Moscow: Current developments necessitate closer consultations between Iran, Russia

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the developments unfolding on the international stage have increased the need for closer consultations between Iran and Russia.

“Relations between Iran and Russia, as two neighbors, are of strategic importance and we need to be in constant consultations with each other. Ongoing international circumstances have highlighted the need” for even enhanced cooperation and consultation, Zarif told reporters upon arrival at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow on Tuesday.

The top Iranian diplomat also argued that the United States and some of its Western allies were disrupting international norms and principles through a series of actions both at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors and the UN Security Council.

Zarif also pointed to Washington’s withdrawal from international agreements, saying, “The latest such case was Washington's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO).”

Unlike other countries that actively cooperate with the organization, the US has “politicized relations with the WHO in order to conceal its own domestic shortfalls. Such US policy has to be confronted squarely,” Zarif said.

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Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian foreign minister pointed to the United States’ attempts to extend a UN arms embargo on Iran, noting that the expected removal of the ban in October “is an important component of the JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and Security Council Resolution 2231. With the change of the US regime, Washington has refused to honor its commitments under the landmark JCOPA deal, which US officials had agreed to at the time.”

He went on to say that Iran shared similar positions with Russia, China and many other states on several global issues.

“The Europeans are also very supportive, but have not been able to pursue an independent policy against the United States so far,” Zarif pointed out.

The top Iranian diplomat went on to say that Tehran-Moscow ties also cover the economic sphere, and that joint economic projects were currently being implemented in Iran with the participation of Russian contractors.

Zarif also said Iran and Russia were closely cooperating with each other on Syria, noting that the dire situation in some parts of the war-raved country necessitated an international meeting within the framework of Astana agreements.

FMs of Iran, Russia, Turkey stress consultations within Astana process as best solution to Syria crisis

Iran, Russia and Turkey underline the importance of continued dialog to maintain the Astana deal as the best way to resolve the conflict in Syria.

Since January 2017, Russia, Iran, and Turkey have been mediating peace talks between representatives from the Damascus government and opposition groups in a series of rounds held in the Kazakh city of Astana and other places. The talks are collectively referred to as the Astana peace process.

The process has helped significantly decrease the violence gripping Syria by creating four de-escalation zones there. They have also paved the way for the formation of a constitutional committee.

This is while a parallel UN-backed peace process in Geneva, Switzerland, has failed to deliver much.

“The issues of Yemen and Afghanistan also need cooperation and consultation [between Iran and Russia],” Zarif concluded.

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