Russia, Iran to create cooperation mechanisms independent from West: Lavrov

Russia and Iran are concentrating on creating mechanisms that will allow them to develop cooperation regardless of the diktats of the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.

The leaders of the two countries defined concrete areas where the governments should make efforts to achieve the goals, Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

"Our Western colleagues, in an effort to establish their complete dominance in the world, purposefully and consistently destroy the entire structure of international relations.

"Meanwhile, we are concentrating together with our friends, including, of course, the Islamic Republic of Iran, on creating reliable, constructive mechanisms that will allow us to develop mutually beneficial cooperation regardless of any diktat," he said.

Lavrov said Moscow and Tehran are working on an “interstate agreement” which will “be of strategic importance” that “will set out the basic guidelines for further building up the entire range of Russian-Iranian ties in the coming decades."

He noted that despite sanctions, trade turnover between the two countries grew by more than 40% in the first half of this year and surpassed $2.7 billion.