Iran Belarus stress on bilateral regional cooperation to promote multilateralism

Iran’s caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri met and spoke to the Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergei Aleinik on Monday as part of his talks on the sidelines of the BRICS member states’ foreign ministerial meeting in the Russian city of in Nizhny Novgorod.

The acting Iranian foreign minister said, “What brings the two countries closer is the belief in independence and freedom from the dominance of strangers and confronting the United States’ unilateralism and for this reason, the US unilateralism seeks to unfairly punish independent countries with sanctions.”

“The two countries have a common goal to protect their sovereignty and independence, and the belief in independence and the common goal of protecting independence makes our interactions strong, firm and strategic,” he added.

Bagheri stressed, “The Islamic Republic supports any mechanism that can bolster multilateralism in the international scene.”

“Independent countries have to take active measures to stop the Zionists' crimes in Gaza,” the acting Iranian foreign minister reiterated in the meeting, adding, “helping the people in Gaza is a humanitarian responsibility, and we should not hesitate to support the people in Palestine.”

He added, “Remaining silent in the face of Zionist crimes means approving the spread of tension and insecurity in the world, and we have to make efforts to stop these crimes as soon as possible and bring the criminals to justice.”

For his part, the Belarusian foreign minister said he was pleased to meet the interim Iranian foreign minister for the second time after his first meeting in a ceremony he had attended in Tehran to pay tribute to the Iranian officials martyred in a helicopter crash in May. 

Aleinik said: “I personally had the honor of meeting and working with (the late Iranian Foreign Minister) Mr. Amirabdollahian, and I met your president and foreign minister at the BRICS meeting for the last time.”

He once again extended his condolences to the Iranian government and people for the tragic loss.

Referring to the numerous cooperation agreements signed between the two countries and the joint projects, the foreign minister of Belarus underlined, “We are actively making efforts to implement and realize the agreements and projects.”

Aleinik further stated, “Our relations have always been based on reciprocal respect and mutual interests and we cooperate at bilateral levels and in international assemblies and provide mutual support in the United Nations and other organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS to form a multipolar world and boost multilateralism.