IRNA – Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Russia's growing influence in West Asia will contribute to the Persian Gulf shift to dialogue.


'Delighted to address @ValdaiClub: With Russia's sober strategic perspective and its growing influence in West Asia, it can play an instrumental role to help a paradigm shift in the Persian Gulf to one based on dialogue and inclusion,' Foreign Minister Zarif, who was a key speaker at the international Valdai Discussion Club’s conference 2018, wrote in his Twitter page on Monday.

Following the event, he met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. They discussed ways of strengthening bilateral ties, main issues and crises of the region, latest developments in Yemen and Syria, and the results of the Sochi talks on Syria.

Valdai conference this year dubbed 'Russia in the Middle East: Playing on Every Field,' began with the speeches of Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday morning.