Iran Press/Europe: Addressing the reporters at the end of his visit to Moscow, Mohammad Javad Zarif referred to the constructive talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying: "One of the most important topics of this trip was the discussion about the Iran Nuclear Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the US policies towards it and Russia's very good stance in this regard."
Iran's top diplomat further referred to the cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, noting: "Today, our relationship with the Russian Federation is much broader and stronger than the relationship we had 20 years ago."
According to Iran's Foreign Minister, regional issues, including Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen, were other issues that the two sides discussed during the meetings.
Regarding his meeting with Putin, Zarif said that talking to Putin and conveying the message was very useful.
Bolton's claims, a lie
Answering the question about former US presidential national security adviser (2018-2019) John Bolton's claims in his book that Putin said that Russia did not need Iran's presence in Syria, he said: "Lavrov said that, first of all, it is unreasonable to do so and secondly, it is a lie. I also said that I do not believe Bolton's words."
Commenting of allegations voiced by Bolton in his book The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin could have never said that Moscow doesn’t need Iran in Syria because he is not in the habit of discussing such matters behind his partners’ back.
"[Bolton] had no grounds to quote President Putin because Putin has never said anything of the kind," Lavrov told a news conference after talks with his visiting Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. "It is against our traditions and principles, the more so it is against President Putin’s principles, to discuss such things behind the back of our partners, We are tightly cooperating with Turkey and Iran in Syria."
Bolton alleges that Putin told him during their meeting in the Kremlin in June 2018 that Moscow was not interested in Iran’s presence in Syria.
Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Russia on Tuesday to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as his Russian counterpart.
In addition to delivering the message of Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani to Vladimir Putin, Zarif discussed Iran's Nuclear Deal, regional developments and bilateral matters with Lavrov.
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