Iran’s Zarif Due on Tour of Balkans: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday plans to start his tour of several countries in the Balkan region in a bid to boost relations between the Islamic Republic and the Eastern European states, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said.
Zarif is going to pay official visits to Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Bosnia to hold talks with senior officials of the southeastern European countries
A high-ranking political and economic delegation, including a number of Iranian entrepreneurs from the public and private sectors, are slated to accompany the top diplomat, the spokesman said.
Holding meetings with the foreign ministers and officials of the Balkan countries as well as the Iranian merchants and businessmen are on the agenda of Zarf’s tour, he noted.
The visits would come against the backdrop of a new wave of interest in ties with Iran after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 reached a conclusion over the text of a comprehensive 159-page deal on Tehran's nuclear program and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
The comprehensive nuclear deal, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran.
However, Iranian officials have complained about the failure of the other side, especially the US, to fully implement the accord, as Iran still has problems in its banking transactions with other countries.