WANA (Jul 25) – On Friday afternoon, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, met and held talks with Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

 

The meeting took place on the sidelines of consultations with counterparts attending the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states in Kyrgyzstan.

 

During the meeting, the two sides discussed and reviewed the status of bilateral cooperation across various political, economic, commercial, transport, and energy sectors, as well as coordination within international organizations and multilateral and regional arrangements, including the SCO and BRICS.

 

It was agreed that necessary follow-ups would be made to facilitate the implementation of agreements reached between the two countries in these respective fields.

 

The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia also exchanged views on developments in the West Asia region following renewed treaty violations by the United States and the violation of the provisions of the Islamabad Agreement by the US administration.

 

Expressing appreciation for Russia’s principled stance in decisively condemning the military aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran, Iran’s Foreign Minister described the current insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz as a direct result of US treachery and crimes committed against Iran. Recalling Iran’s good faith during the negotiation process leading to the war-ending agreement, Araghchi emphasized:

 

“Just as the Islamic Republic of Iran demonstrated seriousness in the diplomatic arena, it remains determined to defend its national interests and security, and to prevent the United States from abusing the Strait of Hormuz to threaten Iran’s national security.”

 

For his part, the Russian Foreign Minister recalled his country’s principled position in condemning the military aggression by the US and Israel against Iran. Lavrov reaffirmed the importance of cooperation and trust-building to establish a security mechanism reliant on regional nations, declaring Russia’s readiness to provide any assistance in this regard.