TEHRAN, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Iranian foreign minister said on Wednesday that Tehran will host a meeting in the coming days among senior diplomats from Iran, Türkiye, Russia and Syria to bring the views of Damascus and Ankara closer to each other.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks at a joint press conference after meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA.
Amir-Abdollahian noted that the meeting will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers, during which a common framework would be defined during the upcoming quadrilateral meeting. The next one will be held at the level of foreign ministers, he added.
The minister denied U.S. accusations of "Iran-affiliated groups' attacks" or "strikes by Iranian drones" on its bases in Syria, saying they are "baseless."
For his part, Lavrov stressed that all "illegal" sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies against Iran should be lifted, saying the trade between Moscow and Tehran is expanding.
"We have a special attention to expanding our trade and economic relations with Iran despite the U.S. sanctions. In 2022, trade between Moscow and Tehran grew 22 percent (year on year)," he added.
The Russian foreign minister also noted that there is no replacement for the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, from which the United States withdrew in 2018, calling for the agreement's revival as soon as possible.
He emphasized that Russia will not support the West's "destructive" approach which is aimed at changing the world's structure, saying the U.S. rules are based on its own regulations. ■
