Iran FM calls for closer relations with Slovakia

Iran’s foreign minister says relations with Slovakia are currently growing, adding that the two countries should work to pave the way for closer cooperation in various areas, particularly economy.

In a meeting with Slovak President Andrej Kiska in Bratislava on Thursday, Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran and Slovakia should provide the necessary grounds for improved bilateral economic cooperation, adding that a large business delegation is accompanying him in his trip to that effect.

Cooperation in the banking sector has already started between Iran and Slovakia, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Zarif added.

“We have good cooperation and consultations with the European Union on regional and international issues, and the Slovak Republic could serve as a good negotiating side in this sphere,” Zarif added.

The top Iranian diplomat also called on the EU to play a more active role in regional issues given the dire humanitarian situation in Syria and Yemen.

Kiska, for his part, praised Iran as a big country and a front runner in the region’s economic field.

He expressed his country’s eagerness to boost relations with Iran, stressing that Tehran-EU relations are moving on the right path.

The Slovak president further noted that the Islamic Republic plays a key role in efforts to establish security and stability in the troubled Middle East region.

Referring to last year’s nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, Kiska said the deal showed that diplomacy can lead to great achievements.

The accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was reached in July 2015 and entered into force in January this year.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit certain aspects of its nuclear program in return for nuclear-related sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the US and the European Union to be lifted.

Additionally on Thursday, Zarif sat down with his Slovak counterpart, Miroslav Lajcak. During the meeting the two sides discussed political and economic cooperation besides ways to boost bilateral ties.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Slovakia also signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at expansion of political relations between the two countries.

During a press conference following the meeting, the Iranian official said the JCPOA is not a deal between Iran and the US, and other countries such as China and Russia are also among the signatories to the agreement.

“Of course Iran’s options are not limited but our hope and our desire and our preference is for the full implementation of the nuclear agreement, which is not bilateral for one side to be able to scrap,” Reuters quoted Zarif as saying.

He made the remarks in response to a question about the fate of the accord after the election of Donald Trump as the 45th US president.

Prior to his election, Trump had threatened that he would “tear up” the JCPOA or try to renegotiate its terms if he was elected president. 

Zarif is in Slovakia on the second leg of an Eastern European tour that will also take him to the Czech Republic. He had earlier visited Romania. 

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