Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks during his meeting with Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Moscow, January 20, 2022

Mr Minister, colleagues.

We welcome you to Moscow. This meeting is taking place as part of the official visit of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi to the Russian Federation at President Vladimir Putin’s invitation.

We attach great importance to this first visit by the incumbent Iranian President to our country. Yesterday, our leaders held detailed, trust-based and substantive talks. The president’s agenda in Russia is eventful and includes his speech at the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

Certainly, this meeting with you highlights the special focus our two leaders place on foreign policy coordination in many areas.

I believe our talks will be useful in specifying the goals set by the presidents of our countries and for moving forward in many areas relating to the regional and global agendas.