Russia, Iran strengthen ties in ‘trusting atmosphere’: Kremlin
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) shaking hands with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a meeting in Teheran, on Oct 23.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TEHERAN – Russia and Iran are firming up bilateral relations in a “trusting atmosphere”, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, after its chief Sergei Lavrov was received by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit to Teheran.
“In a traditionally trusting atmosphere, current aspects of the bilateral agenda were substantively discussed, with an emphasis on further building up the entire complex of multi-faceted Russian-Iranian partnership,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
Mr Lavrov, who went to Teheran shortly after visiting China and North Korea, discussed energy and logistics projects with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
As has been the Russian norm, few details of the talks have emerged.
The talks come amid tensions over the Middle East and unresolved disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which launched a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh in September.
Mr Lavrov participated in regional talks hosted by Iran, aiming to bring peace to the South Caucasus region after Azerbaijani forces in September recaptured the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and forced thousands of ethnic Armenians to flee.
Iran and Russia on Monday denounced European and US interference in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“The problems of the region cannot be resolved by the intervention of foreign forces,” Mr Raisi said.
Mr Amir-Abdollahian said: “The presence of foreigners in the region not only does not solve the problems but also complicates the situation.”
Mr Lavrov, for his part, denounced “attempts by, first and foremost, the EU and, to a certain extent, the United States, to interfere in the process of delimiting” the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has sought to firm up ties with countries traditionally considered Western-aligned, accusing “the collective West” of trying to break up Russia.
Ukraine has urged Iran to stop supplying deadly drones to Russia, which Kyiv says have played a major role in Moscow’s attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
Iran initially denied supplying the Shahed kamikaze drones to Russia, but later said it had provided a small number before Moscow launched the war.
The US has said that it has been concerned by the “burgeoning defence partnership” between Iran and Russia, which poses risks not only to Ukraine but also to Iran’s neighbours. REUTERS
