Iran Foreign Minister in Iraq for Security Talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shakes hands with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein at a joint news conference, in Baghdad, Iraq February 22, 2023. (Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shakes hands with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein at a joint news conference, in Baghdad, Iraq February 22, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
20

Iran Foreign Minister in Iraq for Security Talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shakes hands with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein at a joint news conference, in Baghdad, Iraq February 22, 2023. (Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian shakes hands with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein at a joint news conference, in Baghdad, Iraq February 22, 2023. (Reuters)

Iran's top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with neighboring ally Iraq Wednesday to discuss border security and regional affairs.

He noted the slow progress in talks in Vienna with world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, which promised Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for cutting back its nuclear activities.

The United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to begin walking back on its commitments under the accord.

Negotiations to return to the deal started in 2021 but stalled last year.

Iran is ready "to take steps to conclude the negotiations... on the basis of previous discussions and respecting the red lines" defined by Tehran, Amir-Abdollahian said.

"But if the American side chooses another path... all options are on the table", he added, without elaborating.

His Iraqi counterpart pleaded for a resumption of talks.

"It is important for Iraq that the Iranian and American parties reach an agreement", Hussein said.

The two ministers also discussed security on their border, after Iran last year bombed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups sheltering in northern Iraq.

Tehran accuses Iraq-based Kurdish groups of carrying out attacks in Iran, and of encouraging the months-long protests that erupted after the September 16 death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for an alleged breach of dress rules.

Iraq later redeployed border guards to limit tensions.

"The Iraqi government has taken a series of measures to protect the frontier, and we agree that certain groups should not be allowed to cross this border," Hussein said.



China' Xi to Visit Russia May 7-10, Kremlin Says

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a group photo ceremony prior to Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a group photo ceremony prior to Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov, Pool Photo via AP, File)
TT
20

China' Xi to Visit Russia May 7-10, Kremlin Says

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a group photo ceremony prior to Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a group photo ceremony prior to Outreach/BRICS Plus format session at the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. (Maxim Shipenkov, Pool Photo via AP, File)

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make an official visit to Russia from May 7-10, where he will participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
In a statement on Telegram, the Kremlin said that Xi will discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin the development of the two countries' strategic partnership, as well as signing a number of documents.
"During the talks, the main issues of further development of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda will be discussed," the Kremlin said.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two but pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945.
Several other national leaders are expected at the celebrations, including the presidents of Brazil and Serbia, and the prime minister of Slovakia, said Reuters.
Putin has proposed a three day ceasefire with Ukraine around the May 9 celebration, one of the most important in the Russian calendar.
Responding to Moscow's offer of the three-day ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was ready as long as the ceasefire would be 30 days in length, something Putin had already ruled out in the near term, saying he wants a long-term settlement not a brief pause.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the traditional May 9 victory parade.