TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a meeting with Chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok downplayed the effects of the western pressures and sanctions against Tehran.

During the meeting in Tehran on Sunday, Zarif elaborated on the trend of the nuclear talks with the world powers, and said Iran has adopted a constructive approach towards the negotiations and takes part in the talks with good will.

Brok, for his part, underlined that the EU and Iran can cooperate effectively in many important regional issues.

He also said that the EU attaches much importance to the nuclear negotiations and a possible nuclear deal between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), and expressed the hope that new horizons would open for cooperation between the European states and Iran on the bilateral, regional and international issues.

In relevant remarks today, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted the unfair sanctions imposed against the country, but meantime, underlined that they cannot force Tehran to accept the world powers' unreasonable demands.

"Those who have imposed sanctions against Iran have extremely oppressed this nation," Rouhani said, addressing a forum in Tehran on Sunday.

"But this doesn’t mean surrendering to their (the world powers') unreasonable words; rather we should move against this problem and make progress step by step," he added.

His remarks came as Iran and the G5+1 are in negotiations to find ways to settle their differences on Tehran's nuclear program and remove sanctions.

Also in April, Zarif underscored the necessity for the termination of all sanctions against Tehran under a possible final deal, but meantime, said the country is not ready to pay any price for it.

"We want the removal of sanctions, but its price and cost is also highly important to us. We will not accept to have the sanctions removed at the price of national honor and interests," Zarif said, addressing students at Kazakhstan's Law School.

He stressed Iran's willingness to develop relations with the western states, but meantime said the sanctions policy is an enemy of good relations. "... when the sanctions exist, we cannot have good ties with those countries which have imposed them."

Noting that the Iranian people are not optimistic about the relations with the West, he said the western states have created many problems for the Iranians and therefore, settlement of the country's problems with the West needs time.

By Fars News Agency