Iran and Russia’s relations strategic, committed to UN Charter: Officials

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

The Russian Foreign Minister and his Iranian counterpart affirmed their commitment to the United Nations Charter and support of the Astana process to resolve the crisis in Syria

On 31 August, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian affirmed at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow that his country demands stronger guarantees from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Amir-Abdollahian said on the issue of guarantees, “we need a stronger text and more powerful guarantees,” hinting that Tehran had received verbal US promises relating to resolving disagreements between Tehran and the IAEA.

The Iranian official called to insert these US promises into the agreement, assuring that “the IAEA is moving away from political behavior and focusing on its functions.”

During the conference, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran is strengthening cooperation with Russia in the energy sector and seeking to develop in many fields, confirming that “the Mir payment system is being developed between Russia and Iran.”

“Tehran supports the formation of an Afghan government that includes all parties in the country,” the minister remarked about Afghanistan.

As for Syria: “Iran and Russia will continue the Astana talks to resolve the Syrian crisis.” He also pointed out that Tehran supports talks in Yemen to resolve the humanitarian situation.

Amir-Abdollahian clarified that Russia and Iran share the same attitude towards Iraq’s latest developments: “we hope that the situation in this country will stabilize.”

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also confirmed solid relations between the Russian Federation and Iran during the press conference.

“We are satisfied with how our bilateral relations are developing. We have reached a new qualitative level, which will be determined in a substantial agreement between the two countries,” Lavrov said.

He added that Moscow has drawn up an economic road map, and that “economic cooperation between Russia and Iran amounted to $4 billion last year, and we expect it to rise next year,” noting that Russia “will not accept the Western approach imposed on the world, but rather believes in the United Nations Charter and its rules.”

Lavrov revealed that Moscow and Tehran also discussed Iran’s accession as a permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit (SCO) during the upcoming Samarkand summit in Uzbekistan.

The 2022 annual summit of the SCO Heads of State Council will be held on 15-16 September in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. 

Ahead of Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to Moscow, French President Emmanuel Macron requested Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to mediate talks to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.