Iranian FM says he's in Russia to cordinate policies with Moscow

'Further coordination between Iran and Russia on the nuclear agreement, especially after recent policies adopted by the US against the deal, is among the goals of my visit to Sochi,' the Foreign Minister said.

'There has always been good coordination between Tehran and Moscow, as the two have supported each others' stances in international organizations and in multilateral relations,' Zarif told reporters upon arriving in Sochi on Wednesday.

He added that Russia has backed Iran on the nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and the world major powers in 2015, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Coordination with Russia on Syria is another purpose of the visit, the Foreign Minister added.

'We are facing common challenges with the regional ones on the top,' Zarif said, adding that Iran and Russia could manage to ward off terrorism in Syria, and today we see that the condition on the gound in Syria is good,' the Foreign Minister said.

He went on to say that 'thanks to the cooperation among Iran, Russia and Turkey, the situation on political arena is also improving'.

As to the recent remarks by Yukia Amano, head of the international nuclear watchdog, on possibility of visiting Iran's military sites within the framework of the nuclear agreement, Zarif said, 'As frequent reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have proved, Iran has a clean record with regard to undeclared nuclear activities.'

'None of the visits, as it is stipulated in the Article 74 of the first attachment of the JCPOA, can be used as a pretext to find out the country's classified information,' Zarif stressed.

Foreign Minister Zarif is scheduled to hold talks with officials of the Russian Federation during the day-long visit.

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