Iran FM Ruled Out Any Geopolitical Change in Region

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian ruled out any attempt to change geopolitics in the Caucasus region, and called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a political solution to soothe their tensions.

Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

“We focused on the ongoing developments in the Caucasus region, noting that we do not see the continuation of tension in the region as fruitful for any parties, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, but Russia and Iran believe that security would be beneficial for regional peace and stability,” Amir Abdollahian said after his meeting with Lavrov.

“Since certain efforts to change the geopolitics of the region can complicate the current circumstances more than ever, the 3+3 mechanism for resolving Caucasus issues and other existing mechanisms should be applied away from resorting to using force,” he added.

The next round of talks to pursue the 3+3 mechanism can be held in Tehran, the top diplomat said, expressing hope that the result of the coming meeting and other efforts result in resolving the issues peacefully.

On economic and trade ties between Russia and Iran, Amir Abdollahian underscored that the mutual trade exchanges improved over the past one and half years and that the bilateral trade volume increased by more than 3.5 times.

He also noted that the two foreign ministers discussed the accession of the Islamic Republic to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, including the approval of 49 documents by the Iranian Parliament for Iran’s membership in the next SCO summit.

As to the relationship between Turkiye and Syria, Amir Abdollahian said that he discussed the issue in his latest trip to Ankara as well as during his today’s meeting with FM Lavrov and that the deputy foreign ministers of Turkiye, Syria, Russia, and Iran will hold a meeting next week to approach viewpoints of Ankara and Damascus.

Reacting to the United States’ claims on recent clashes in Syria, the Iranian foreign minister stated that the Americans always level unfounded accusations on attacks by the so-called groups, which they claim, are affiliated to Iran, or accuse the Islamic Republic of conducting drone strikes, but they do not propose any document to prove their allegations.

Touching upon the restoration of ties between Riyadh and Tehran, Amir Abdollahian noted that he would meet with his Saudi counterpart in the near future, adding that certain disagreements were natural, but the differences would not hinder the restoration of the relationship as well as the re-opening of embassies of both countries.

In a relevant development on Wednesday, Amir Abdollahian in a meeting with Lavrov in Moscow called for the finalization of the strategic cooperation agreement with Russia in less than a month.

“Reviews on the long-term strategic cooperation agreement between the two countries have been finalized in Russia. Iran has also examined it. I hope that in less than a month, the final revision of the agreement will be carried out by Iran’s Foreign Ministry,” Amir Abdollahian said in his Wednesday meeting with Lavrov in the Russian capital.

“High-ranking Iranian and Russian delegations at different levels are exchanging views, and the presidents of the two countries are in constant contact with each other,” he added.

Also in his remarks, the top Iranian diplomat stressed that Iran-Russia ties are advancing on the right track, hoping that bilateral cooperation in regional and international organizations will properly go on.

Lavrov, for his part, said that the talks between Iran and Russia in different areas are actively advancing.

He noted that Tehran-Moscow relations in political, commercial, investment and economic fields, as well as the implementation of key projects have developed.

There has been a steady growth in bilateral ties within the framework of the joint economic commission, he said, highlighting close cooperation in international and regional affairs.

In 2001, Tehran and Moscow signed a 10-year cooperation deal that was lengthened to 20 years through two five-year extensions.

Now, the two capitals are seeking to ink a document on bilateral strategic cooperation, which may determine their future relations for the next twenty years.