Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has traveled to Moscow, aiming to finalize a draft agreement on a comprehensive strategic agreement with Russia by next month.
At a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, the top Iranian diplomat expressed his optimism in efforts to sign a comprehensive agreement for bilateral strategic cooperation.
In response to the concerns of certain counties, Minister Abdollahian said, “our cooperation will not be against any country.” He further added, “bilateral cooperation between the Islamic Republic and Russia in the fields of defense and security is at the final stage.”
“In the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation, relations have grown steadily and we have close cooperation in international and regional affairs, and today, all these issues are on the agenda of our negotiations,” Lavrov said.
The US National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby earlier in a press conference said that if cooperation between Tehran and Moscow in the field of cyber and military equipment is true, it is a cause for concern.
This comes as Iran is accused of supplying drones to Russia to attack Ukraine, a claim which has been rejected by Iran. On October 15, Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected allegations that it has supplied Russia with weapons to be used in the war in Ukraine.
“We have defense cooperation with Russia, but our policy regarding the war in Ukraine is not sending weapons to the conflicting parties, stopping the war, and ending the displacement of people,” Abdollahian said.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the two sides will also discuss the situation of the region as well as Afghanistan.
The relations between Iran and the west in particular with the US has soured in the recent past over Tehran’s close ties with Russia, and the supply of drones to Moscow.
