Moscow, Russia–Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday for talks with regional counterparts, his ministry’s spokeswoman has confirmed.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported earlier that the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia had been invited to meet for the talks.
“We confirm Lavrov’s planned talks in Tehran on Monday,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS and RIA news agencies.
The talks come amid tensions over the Middle East and unresolved disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which launched a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh last month.
Armenia later confirmed that its foreign minister would attend the meeting.
A full list of attendees has not yet been released, but Armenia’s northern neighbour Georgia said Sunday that it would not be attending, its foreign ministry told the Interpressnews agency.
Georgia applied for EU membership together with Ukraine and Moldova after Russia invaded its pro-Western neighbour in February 2022.
Since launching its assault, Russia has turned to Iran for military support and economic partnerships as both countries face a raft of Western sanctions.
Western countries have accused Tehran of supporting Russia’s offensive in Ukraine by providing it with large quantities of drones and other weaponry.