FM: Iran, Spain Share Identical Views on Fight against Extremism
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Tehran and Madrid share a common view on the procedures for tackling extremism, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said after a meeting with his Spanish counterpart here in Tehran Sunday.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the Spanish minister, the Iranian foreign minister said he has discussed a range of regional developments with the visiting European diplomat, including the issue of the Syrian crisis.
“The both countries have common views about fighting extremism,” Zarif explained.
He further hailed the historical ties between Iran and Spain, saying that the two countries' ties have been on the basis of “mutual respect and common interests”.
“The both countries’ political willpower calls for the promotion of ties, particularly in the economic sphere.”
Zarif said that he and the Spanish minister also conferred on the nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers, adding that the Spanish diplomat expressed satisfaction with a breakthrough in the negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as P5+1 or E3+3).
Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) have on November 24, 2013, signed a six-month deal on Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Geneva after several rounds of tight negotiations.
The landmark deal has come into force since January 20.
The two sides are also slated to hold the next round of talks in Vienna later this month with the aim of reaching a comprehensive, final agreement on Iran’s nuclear case.
During the press conference, Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo y Marfil, for his part, called for the enhancement of Tehran-Madrid relations, the economic ties in particular.
He also emphasized the necessity for stronger cultural interaction between the two nations, demanding that the Iranian city of Isfahan and one of the Spanish towns are declared sister cities.
