Commentary:

Tehran (IP) - Ali Bagheri Kani, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ryabkov and Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East in Moscow on Friday.

Iran Presscommentary: After his meeting in Moscow, Ali Bagheri Kani wrote in a tweet: "In a positive and fruitful meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, we reviewed recent developments and exchanged views on negotiations to lift illegal and oppressive sanctions."
  
Part of Bagheri Kani's talks in Russia took place in the framework of sharing views on the talks on lifting sanctions against Iran to be held in Vienna.

According to Iran's agreement with the P4+1 countries, bilateral talks are to be held with each of these countries to lift sanctions against Iran. 

What is at stake for Iran in these negotiations is the demand from Europe and the United States to return to the implementation of the JCPOA-related commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which is the most logical way to maintain the JCPOA; Lifting sanctions and fulfillment of all the JCPOA obligations by the parties. 

Related news:

Iran's Deputy FM meets with Sergei Ryabkov to discuss JCPOA

Accordingly, the new talks will only be successful if they lead to the lifting of sanctions and the fulfillment of all parties' obligations.

Still, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and Russian officials discussed bilateral relations and the promotion of cooperation in various fields to ensure the two countries' interests and issues of interest. 

From this perspective, the visit of the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister to Russia is an opportunity for strengthening ties between Tehran and Moscow and emphasis taking advantage of the various options that exist in the field of strategic cooperation between two countries.

"Moscow is undoubtedly on Iran's list of prioritized partners, and the two countries will continue to be partners on the basis of the status quo," said Vladimir Sazhin, a senior fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
 
Given these developments, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister's visit to Moscow after the Brussels talks is of importance for two reasons:
 
The first is the joint role of Iran and Russia as two independent and powerful countries and influential on regional developments. This level of relations is, in fact, a sign of convergence and multilateralism in regional interactions.
 
The second reason; the cooperation between Iran and Russia is strategic. Iran has already joined the Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to strengthen regional and multilateral relations.
 
The two countries ' approach to strengthening multilateral and long-term ties has highlighted the importance of Iran-Russia relations in the current situation.

The standard strategy of Iran and Russia is to shore up and develop multilateralism against Western unilateralism.

Regarding the cooperation capacities of the two countries, the Iranian ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali says: "The current level of relations and cooperation between Iran and Russia is much higher than in previous decades, while the cooperation between the two sides has deepened and become more meaningful and there are many capacities in the relations between the two countries that should be addressed in the framework of comprehensive cooperation plan."

This level of relations requires the two sides to have constant consultations to make the best use of all political, economic, and security capacities in the face of common threats.

The importance of the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister's visit to Moscow and the expectations of both sides from the talks and strategic consultations should be assessed in line with these goals.

Read more:

Bagheri calls meetings in Russia fruitful and positive

Iran's deputy FM in Moscow to hold bilateral talks on JCPOA

205/215