Iran FM to start 5-nation tour over bilateral, regional issues

Tehran, Jan 24 (IANS) Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will embark on a five-nation tour starting from Monday for talks on bilateral as well as regional issues, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh announced.Zarif's tour will cover Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey, Xinhua news agency quoted Khatibzadeh as saying in his announcement on Saturday.During his tour, Zarif will meet his counterparts and other senior officials to discuss bilateral issues, latest developments in the Caucasus region, joint projects as well as peace and stability in the region, the spokesman added. Zarif had planned to travel to the Russian and Azerbaijani capitals in November 2020 to talk about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, other regional issues, and bilateral matters.He was also was expected to hold talks with officials from the countries, including his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, but his trip was postponed.
--IANS sk/