‘Duma opposed to sanctions against Iran’

TEHRAN,Feb.20(MNA)– A number of Russia’s State Duma members have said that the Russian parliament is opposed to sanctions against Iran. The Russian lawmakers made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on the sidelines of the Eurasian cooperation conference in Tehran on Tuesday. Nikolai Levichev, the head of Iran-Russia joint parliamentary group, said that the Duma is opposed to pressure on Iran and supports policies to counter the West’s unilateral sanctions on Iran. Commenting on the scheduled talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) in Kazakhstan on February 26, Levichev expressed hope that the talks would bear fruit and resolve the nuclear dispute between Iran and the West. For his part, Salehi said that the cooperation between Iran and Russia is beneficial for the interests of regional countries.