NIZHNIY NOVGOROD, June 10. /TASS/. Acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said there is huge potential to broaden cooperation with Russia and make it more fruitful and successful.

The Iranian official made the statement at talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in Nizhny Novgorod. He also expressed gratitude to Lavrov for Russia's condolences and position after the deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

"It seems to me that events and changes will not be able to make any changes to our cooperation. It will become even more fruitful and successful. We currently see a huge potential for expanding and strengthening our interaction," he stated.

At the start of the meeting, Lavrov reiterated his condolences over the deaths of Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian, describing the late minister as his friend.

"We will always remember them not only as great sons of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but also as faithful friends of Russia, with whom we worked together to do a lot and adopt many promising plans to develop cooperation," Lavrov said.

"We have taken note of the statement by our Iranian friends about the continuity of our relations," Lavrov said. "This position meets with full support and reciprocity from our side."

The BRICS Council of Foreign Ministers is taking place in Nizhny Novgorod from June 10-11. This is the first meeting of foreign ministers from BRICS 10 member countries following the group’s enlargement.