Russia's Lavrov to visit Iran for talks Monday

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday for talks with regional counterparts, his ministry’s spokeswoman has confirmed.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported earlier that the foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia had been invited to meet for the talks.

“We confirm Lavrov’s planned talks in Tehran on Monday,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS and RIA news agencies.

The talks come amid tensions over the Middle East and unresolved disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which launched a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh last month.

Since launching its assault in Ukraine last year, Russia has turned to Iran for military support and economic partnerships as both countries face a raft of Western sanctions.

Western countries have accused Tehran of supporting Russia’s offensive in Ukraine by providing it with large quantities of drones and other weaponry.