Top diplomat says Russia and Iran fully agree on text of state treaty

Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia and Iran have yet to put their final signatures on the state treaty, adding that Moscow is waiting for the Iranian side to settle procedural issues needed for the agreement to be signed.

“As for work on a state treaty on cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran, yes, it cannot be signed yet even though the text has been fully coordinated,” he added.

The remarks were made at a press conference after a ministerial meeting of the BRICS group of developing economies in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod. They came after Russian diplomatic sources said that works on the Russia-Iran state treaty had been suspended because of certain issues in Iran.

Iranian ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali rejected the notion that the deal had been suspended, saying it could become finalized after Iran elects a new president in late June.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that deadlines for finalizing the deal had been pushed back after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month.

“…given the current period in Tehran when preparations for a presidential election are underway, the deadlines have been slightly pushed back. Because it is the presidential election, as a rule, later staff reshuffle is possible and so on,” Peskov stated.

Lavrov noted he had told Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani on Monday that Russia is committed to the state treaty with Iran which he said “is meant to take Russia-Iran relations to a completely different level”.