TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said that some Western parties have reached out to Iran asking it to play an active role in the Ukraine war.

Amir Abdollahian made the remarks before boarding his plane to Russia late on Tuesday.

Commenting on a trip to Russia, he said, “The main goal of the visit to Moscow is making efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis based on a request made to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Some Western parties want Tehran to play an active role in this regard.”

He added, “Also on the agenda of the trip are a follow-up on bilateral ties and the issue of Afghanistan.”

Recently, there have been reports in Western media, as well as on the part of U.S. officials, that Russia, which is one of the most powerful countries in the field of military industries, bought drones from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran has called for a negotiated solution to the Ukraine crisis and announced its opposition to war.

In February, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stated that the expansion of NATO to the East creates tensions.

“The expansion of NATO is a serious threat to the stability and security of independent countries in different regions,” the Iranian president told President Putin.

But the expansion of NATO does not forgo the need for diplomacy.  Thus, Iran underlined the need for diplomacy and dialogue. Ali Bahadori Jahromi, the spokesman for the Iranian government, said at the time that concerns about the expansion of NATO are understandable but diplomacy is necessary.

“Security concerns about the growing and provocative trend of NATO expansion to the East are understandable for all independent countries and those opposing U.S. dominance. At the same time, compliance with international law and humanitarian law and reliance on dialogue and diplomacy are necessary to stop conflicts,” the spokesman said on Twitter.