Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is all set to visit Russia on Monday, during which he will hold talks on bilateral ties as well as regional and international developments.
Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov will exchange views on “prospects for further strengthening bilateral political dialogue and developing ties in trade, economic, cultural and other fields”, Xinhua news agency reported.
As for the regional and international issues, their talks will focus on the latest developments on the Iranian nuclear programme, the Syrian settlement, developments in the Gulf area, among others.
In August, Zarif landed in France on a surprise visit to the gathering of the great and the good.
Earlier in September, while speaking ahead of Zarif’s meeting in Moscow with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted by the official government news agency IRNA as saying that “the points of views have become closer on many issues and now technical discussions are being held on ways to carry out the Europeans’ commitments [in the nuclear deal].”
In May 2018, the United States pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for an easing of sanctions, and has since reimposed crippling sanctions targeting Iran’s lucrative oil industry and the financial sector.
Lavrov and Zarif last met in May when Russia celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.