Russia says ready to facilitate agreement between Iran, PG states

"I think, Tehran’s initiative on signing a non-aggression pact is a step in [the right] direction. I know that not everyone, but a number of member countries of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council are willing to consider the initiative. We will be ready to facilitate this process," Lavrov pointed out, according to TASS.

He added that the current European security system had been established based on the Helsinki process, the Helsinki Final Act and the activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). "Certainly, the situation is never the same but in many ways, the Persian Gulf may use Europe’s experience," the Russian top diplomat went on to say. "Then the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran could made an agreement to ensure the transparency of military activities, start inviting each other to military drills and take other confidence-building measures," he noted.

According to Lavrov, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and member countries of the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union could offer assistance in this regard.

Iran, in the past years, has always reiterated its readiness to sign a non-aggression pact with regional countries in a bid to build trust and confidence, and help eliminate concerns originating from other countries’ fear-inducing tactics. Most recently, Foreign Minister Zarif in a meeting with Iraqi President Barham Salih in Baghdad on Saturday repeated the suggestion to Persian Gulf states to sign the agreement.

“Iran does not want to be in an insecure and stressful region,” FM Spokesman Mousavi said on Tuesday, while highlighting the significance of signing the pact.

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