Thursday, 24 September 2020 _Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is in Moscow for an official visit to discuss regional issues and matters of mutual interest, including Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Upon arrival at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow late on Wednesday, Zarif said that the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), would top the agenda of talks between the two diplomats.
Zarif hailed the key roles played Russia and China against futile US plots to kill the JCPOA during the past few months.
The visit comes days after United States unilaterally re-imposed what it calls “UN” sanctions on Tehran two through the JCPOA’s so-called snapback mechanism.
However, Russia and other UN Security Council members have repeatedly said Washington does not have the authority to use that mechanism as it is no longer a participant state to the Iran deal following its withdrawal from the multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran in May 2018.
Referring to close coordination between Tehran and Moscow in various fields, the top Iranian diplomat said “this allows contacts with Russian colleagues, and my current trip to Moscow is the third to the Russian capital during the coronavirus outbreak.”
“We have serious problems in the region. The Syrian issue needs special coordination, and we will coordinate our measures with Russia and Turkey in the Astana talks,” he said.