TASS - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif will hold talks in Moscow on Wednesday. They will discuss the issue of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program and other global threats, including the crises in Venezuela and Syria.

"The sides will exchange opinions on key topics on the international and regional agenda, including Syrian settlement, the situation around the Caspian Sea, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, JCPOA, Venezuela," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "They plan to discuss the current condition of multifaceted ties between Russia and Iran, as well as concrete steps to further develop cooperation," the foreign ministry added.

Moscow supports Tehran's balanced approach on JCPOA, the ministry noted. "Russia does not recognize illegal sanctions imposed unilaterally by the US on Iran and everybody who deals with Tehran. Such method of unfair competition on global markets, including the energy market, is used by Americans despite the fact that IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] regularly confirms the exclusively peaceful character of Iran's nuclear program," the foreign ministry stressed.

The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that cooperation with Iran is an important factor for ensuring Russia's national interests, strengthening stability in Transcaucasia and Central Asia, as well as in the Middle East. The positions of the two countries on many issues are similar.