Russia and Iran close to finalizing ‘strategic partnership’ – Lavrov

Work on a comprehensive inter-state agreement is almost complete, according to the foreign minister

Moscow and Tehran will complete work on a comprehensive inter-state agreement in the very near future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

According to the diplomat, relations between the two countries are developing rapidly and a lot of bilateral projects are currently underway.

“It is symbolic that in the very near future we must complete work – there are already technical details left – on a new inter-state agreement … And this will be a symbolic step in our relations with the new Iranian leadership,” Lavrov said, speaking at Moscow’s State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

The Islamic Republic’s ninth president, Masoud Pezeshkian, was sworn in last month after winning the July presidential election with 53.6% of the vote in the second round.

The snap poll was called after the death of his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May. Pezeshkian has described Russia as “a valued strategic partner” and pledged to further strengthen relations with Moscow.

Speaking about the two countries’ joint projects, Lavrov drew special attention to those that are part of major logistics routes.

“This is the ‘North-South,’ a corridor that allows you to go from St Petersburg directly to the Persian Gulf, then to the Indian Ocean. It significantly reduces both travel time and transportation costs,” Lavrov said.

The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-kilometer-long, multi-mode transit system that connects ship, rail, and road routes for moving cargo between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Russia, and the rest of Europe.

Construction of the INSTC started in the early 2000s but developing it further has taken on a new impetus, in light of Western sanctions that have forced Russia to shift its trade routes towards Asia and the Middle East.

Lavrov went on to highlight what he called “Caspian cooperation… We are coastal countries, and this is also a very important area of our interaction.”

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The Russian FM also mentioned cooperation on the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran and other joint investment projects. “I believe that the figures reflecting the growth of trade turnover and the volume of investment speak for themselves. These figures are constantly increasing. So, we have a bright future,” he summed up.

Moscow and Tehran have been forging closer energy and trade ties during a period when both countries are under Western sanctions.

In June, Russian energy giant Gazprom signed a strategic memorandum with Iran for pipeline gas supplies to the Islamic Republic. In 2022, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak announced a massive energy deal with Iran, worth $40 billion, as well as an agreement to swap supplies of oil and natural gas.

In July 2023, Iran became a full member of the Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization that promotes multilateral cooperation between its member-states.