Russia, Iran to create cooperation mechanisms, disregarding West’s diktats: Lavrov

MOSCOW (AA) – Russia and Iran are concentrating on creating mechanisms that will allow them to develop cooperation regardless of the diktats of the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.

The leaders of the two countries defined concrete areas where the governments should make efforts to achieve the goals, Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Lavrov said Moscow and Tehran are working on an “interstate agreement” which will “be of strategic importance” that “will set out the basic guidelines for further building up the entire range of Russian-Iranian ties in the coming decades.”

He noted that despite sanctions, trade turnover between the two countries grew by more than 40% in the first half of this year and surpassed $2.7 billion.

Russia also supports Iran’s accession as a permanent member to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and a memorandum of Iran’s obligations to the organization will be signed at the SCO summit in September in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, he said.

Moscow and Tehran are also working on connecting Russia’s Mir and Iran’s Shetab payment systems to facilitate financial transactions between the two countries, Lavrov added.

Lavrov also expressed support to Iran regarding the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, saying Russia will align its position on this issue in accordance with Iran.

For his part, Amir-Abdollahian urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refrain from making politicized statements and assessments and to thoroughly fulfill its obligations.