Iran Press/ Iran news: President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Moscow on Friday, January 17, at his counterpart's official invitation, to enhance bilateral relations and finalize a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation.
In an interview with the Russian Sputnik News Agency on Friday, Esmail Baqaei pointed to the international mechanism for the cooperation and said: "The importance of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is increasing day by day. These two forums are effective in neutralizing Western sanctions."
One of the main issues the Iranian MFA Spokesman referred to as to be discussed between Pezeshkian and Putin, was the issue of the regional developments, including what was going on in the war-hit Gaza:
"The core point of this visit is the signing of the strategic partnership agreement between the two countries, but naturally this opportunity will be used to discuss various aspects of relations between the two countries, developments in the region, including changes in Western Asia, in particular in Syria and Gaza, developments in the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as developments in the international arena."
As with Pezeshkian's possible talks about the JCPOA and the nuclear program of Iran, Baqaei told Sputnik: I think it is absolutely natural that the two presidents use this opportunity to discuss the latest developments regarding Iran's nuclear issue ... Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and one of the parties to the nuclear deal, played an important role in shaping this diplomatic achievement [referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] ... Russia's constructive and important role in this area will be key in the future."
Iran's international nuclear agreement or the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between the country and P5+1 countries (Russia, China, UK, Germany, France, and the US) in 2015, to lift the West's sanctions on Iran, but the US scrapped it on May 18, 2018, re-imposing more sanctions on Iran.
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