Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks at a meeting with Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Moscow, December 5, 2023

Mr Minister, Colleagues!

We are happy to see you in Moscow. This is our sixth meeting in 2023. This fact shows the intensity of the Russian-Iranian agenda and the invariable relevance of a regular exchange of views.

I would like to congratulate you and the people and leaders of Iran on some important events – an invitation to join BRICS and accession to the SCO as a full- member. Russia was among the countries that actively facilitated a positive review of Iran’s applications.

Our countries are developing interaction in all key areas. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi maintain constant contact and regularly speak by telephone. On May 17, the two countries launched the Rasht-Astara Railway project via videoconference. We are paying priority attention to increasing the potential of the North-South International Transport Corridor and mutually beneficial energy cooperation.

Our countries are continuously cooperating at different levels. Last October, Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin held a productive discussion with First Vice President of Iran Mohammad Mokhber in Bishkek, while the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Alexander Novak and Javad Owji, met in Moscow last October. Our departments are also permanently in touch with each other. Now we are completing the drafting of a new large interstate treaty.

We signed a declaration on the ways and tools of countering, alleviating and compensating for the negative consequences of unilateral coercive measures. This is

important for pooling the efforts of the international community to overcome the illegal sanctions with which the US and its allies have replaced diplomacy.

We will exchange views on urgent bilateral and international issues. We have a busy agenda as is our tradition.