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Iran, Russia Discuss Syria, Nuclear Issues In Sochi Meeting

By Reza Ghorbani September 16, 2017

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described as substantial and positive his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s southwestern city of Sochi on September 13, during his ten-hour trip to Russia. / IRNA.IR

The Iranian foreign minister discussed the Syrian crisis, the fight against terrorism, and nuclear issue in a meeting with his Russian counterpart and President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Sochi on September 13. 

"We discussed the implementation of the JCPOA on the Iranian nuclear program. The Russian side noted Iran's full compliance with all its obligations, similar to the opinion of IAEA Director General [Yukiya Amano], who has repeatedly drawn such a conclusion," Russian Foreign Sergey Lavrov told journalists in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Sputnik reported on Thursday.

Following a private meeting, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described his talks with the Russian leader as “substantial and positive,” and said that they discussed Tehran-Moscow ties, regional issues, including Syria, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – better known as the nuclear deal and signed in July 2015 and according to which Iran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of specific sanctions and access to frozen capital.

Upon arrival, Zarif told reporters that Tehran and Moscow need to boost cooperation in the face of American President Donald Trump's harsh stance on the nuclear deal. In early August, the United States slapped sanctions on Iran for ballistic missile development and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Following Trump’s move, Iran had threatened that any additional sanctions set Iran up for pulling out of the nuclear deal.

The visit comes as Iran, Russia and Turkey, which act as guarantors of the fragile ceasefire in Syria, held preliminary consultations in Astana, Kazakhstan, in the run-up to the sixth round of talks on Syria peace process, held from September 14-15. 

Iran and Russia are experiencing perhaps the best bilateral relations they ever have.

From trade and industry, to military issues and the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Syria, relations are considered to be in a phase of development that began when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani first took office in 2013. Since then, Russian companies have signed a record number of oil and gas contracts with Iran, boosted by the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran in January 2016, as the nuclear deal signed the year before started to kick into gear.

The two countries have common interests in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, in Eurasian transit routes, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, as well as developing oil and gas markets. An important element to Russo-Iranian cooperation is the 7,200-kilometer International North-South Transport Corridor, and interconnected network of railroads, roads and shipping lanes designed to facilitate the flow of freight through India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, as well as European and Central Asian states.

“Russia and Iran need each other to move their freight between Europe and Asia, and that Tehran enjoys an unprecedented level of technological cooperation with Moscow”, the chairman of Iran Railways' International Affairs Department, Abbas Nazari said, according to Xinhua.

Iran, along with Russia, supported the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad from the start, with financial aid, armaments, intelligence advice, and militia on the ground since civil war broke out in March 2011. Now, they are also expected to participate in country’s reconstruction, including investments in Syria’s economy and energy sector.

During the September 13 meeting, pointing to the recent military achievements of the Syrian Army against rebels, Mohammad Javad Zarif noted that Tehran and Moscow could help force the terrorists to retreat.

"Today, the situation on the ground is very good," he said.