Iranian Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji said on Monday that cooperation between Iran and Russia can thwart the international sanctions on the two countries.
Iran-Russia relations have never been so close, the minister said adding that the time is ripe for further enhancement of cooperation with Russia, Owji said.
Owji chairs an ongoing Iran-Russia Joint Economic Commission meeting in Russia on the Iranian side. Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Alexander Novak also co-chairs the meeting.
The minister said that during the 16th Iran-Russia Joint Economic Commission meeting, the two sides will discuss the implementation of the agreements already made in a previous meeting of the two presidents.
The meeting, which opened on Sunday, is scheduled to come to an end on Tuesday when a final agreement is due to be signed by both sides.
Iran reached a landmark nuclear deal with six world powers – namely the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China – in 2015 which led to the removal of all the sanctions on the country.
The US administration under President Donald Trump, however, unilaterally withdrew from the multinational accord in 2018. The country re-imposed sanctions on the Iranian economy and even threatened other countries that they would be punished by Washington if they refuse to follow these unilateral penalties.
Russia also came under tough Western sanctions since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Iran and Russia have been seeking broad cooperation in different areas over the past months so as to neutralize the effect of sanctions on both countries.