Contract between Moscow and Tehran on construction of 8 power units will strengthen Iran’s energy sphere - Lavrov

MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. The contract between Moscow and Tehran on construction of eight power units at Iranian nuclear power plants (NPP) will strengthen the country’s energy sphere, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday after talks with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif. Lavrov described cooperation between Moscow and Tehran as comprehensive as it "encompasses all key spheres of cooperation between the countries." "I will particularly stress [cooperation in] economy, especially hi-tech sphere. It is also nuclear energy which bases upon the successful completion of Bushehr-1 project and on intergovernmental protocol and contract on construction of eight Russian-designed power units designed in Iran signed last year," he added. "This is a very promising and large-scale direction [of cooperation] which will strengthen Iran’s energy sphere and at the same time ensure full compliance of non-proliferation regime while respecting Iran’s right for a peaceful nuclear program," Lavrov said. "There is also non-nuclear energy, and it is promising. There are cooperation prospects in infrastructure, especially in railroad infrastructure," he continued. "We are interested in boosting agricultural import from Iran to Russia." "We are also interested in developing trade and economic cooperation and scientific cooperation on the Caspian Sea," Lavrov noted. "We participate in negotiations of five Caspian countries on developing a convention on the legal status of this sea." The foreign minister also noted cooperation between the two countries in military-technical sphere. "In January this year, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu visited Tehran where an agreement on military cooperation was signed, including in the context of the Caspian topic. This is an important task to prevent threats and risks which exist in the region and can exacerbate," he stressed. Russia and Iran continue to discuss easing the visa regime, Lavrov said. Read more