MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi will conduct an inventory of the dialogue between the two countries during the Iranian leader’s upcoming visit to Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Friday.

"The [Iranian President’s] visit to Russia is first of all aimed at conducting an inventory of the dialogue, of our entire agenda amid the changes in Iran’s leadership. [We need] to understand to what extent we are ensuring continuity [of our relations]. In terms of economic issues, the agenda is very extensive but, as always, when there are many joint projects, more attention to detail is needed," the top diplomat said.

According to Lavrov, the visit of the Iranian president to Russia is very significant, as it is necessary to resume face-to-face contacts at the highest level, which were suspended amid the pandemic. "The leaders talked over the phone, but face-to-face dialogue is definitely more productive <…>," the top diplomat insisted. "We have some political issues on the agenda - it is the Iranian nuclear deal, the overall situation in the Persian Gulf, our joint work in the UN and in other international organizations, including the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons."

Lavrov emphasized that Russia viewed Iran as "part of a team" that supports the principles of international law, universal agreements, the UN’s central role, being a member of the group of friends in defense of the UN Charter. "We are in close contact on numerous regional issues. As for Syria, we are taking part in the Astana format, together with our Turkish neighbors, and I believe this is a fine example of how you can unite, although your views do not coincide one hundred percent, differ in many ways <…>," the Russian foreign minister noted.