TEHRAN — Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Wednesday warned the European Union “not to continue the repeated and failed path of previous years.”

Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks in a joint press conference with his Belarussian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in Tehran. 

“I warn the European Union not to continue the repeated and failed path of previous years,” he cautioned, adding that the leaders of a few European countries have “extreme and hasty” views on regional and international developments, while a large part of the European Union members act rationally. 

“We strongly reject the baseless accusations of some countries regarding Russia's use of Iranian drones in the war against Ukraine, and we invite the Ukrainian officials to present any documents related to this claim in a bilateral meeting at the level of Iranian and Ukrainian technical experts,” he noted.

He then insisted on Tehran’s position regarding the Ukraine war, saying it is not Iran’s policy to arm any of the warring parties.

“We are against the war in Ukraine,” he added.

'U.S. officials make contradictory statements on JCPOA’ 

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amir Abdollahian said that some American officials are in a hurry to reach an agreement regarding a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, commonly known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 

“While some American officials are in a hurry to send confidential diplomatic messages during indirect negotiations to reach an agreement or they repeatedly express their interest by exchanging indirect messages, at the same time, they support terror and chaos in Iran. Their goal is to force us to back down at the negotiating table. Undoubtedly, we will not back down from our red lines in safeguarding the national interests of the Iranian nation.”  
He then noted that Tehran has received messages from Washington to reach an agreement to restore the JCPOA. 

“America's messages to reach an agreement has been received by us. In recent days, we received a message from America in this regard. Diplomacy is going on, and it is going well. However, some American officials make hypocritical statements… in, and that contradicts their diplomatic messages,” Iran’s top diplomat stated.

He then went on to note that Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko will soon visit Iran to meet his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi.

“Mr. Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, will visit Iran in the near future. Then, the long-term comprehensive agreement between the two countries will be signed in Tehran, along with other documents,” he stated.

Belarussian FM: Iran and Belarus are facing economic terrorism 

For his part, Makei likened the economic sanctions against Iran and Belarus to economic “terrorism”.

“This is not my first trip to Iran, and during the negotiations with the Iranian foreign minister, we discussed a wide range of issues, and all issues were in line with the development of bilateral relations. Very good and constructive agreements were reached in the economic and investment fields and other issues that were of interest to both sides,” the top Belarusian diplomat told the joint press conference.

Makei continued his remarks by saying that the approach of Iran and Belarus on regional and international issues is similar, and the two countries have a good and constructive cooperation at international organizations. 

“Relations between the two countries are increasing. There is a lot of exchange of delegations between the two countries at different levels, and bilateral, regional and international issues are discussed between the two sides,” he added. 

The Belarusian foreign minister added, “In order to increase the level of relations between the two countries in various issues that were raised, various documents are under review. The 15th meeting of the joint commission for commercial and economic cooperation and investment was held in Minsk, and we are implementing the agreements reached as a result of the joint commission.”

Belarus and Iran are seeing a significant increase in commercial ties, Makei noted. However, he said, the level of commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries is lagging behind political relations.

“We must make efforts to implement the agreements and upgrade the level of relations to a higher level,” he opined.

Next year, the two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations and different programs are being planned for the purpose, the top Belarusian diplomat said, adding that Minsk believes that this will open a new page in cooperation between the two sides.

He also said Belarus is also against unilateral economic and trade sanctions. “We want the implementation of international law and we do not like harming the economy of other countries. An economic terrorism is happening against our countries. We must show appropriate actions in response to the unilateral actions of Western countries.”

“The fruitful agreements help increase the level of relations between the two countries. We are moving towards a strategic partnership between the two countries,” he concluded.

Prior to the press conference, the two chief diplomats also held talks on developments in Afghanistan, moves to back multilateralism, confronting the unilateral sanctions of the United States and increasing political and specialized consultations in international assemblies and organizations. 

This is Makei's first visit to Tehran since Ebrahim Raisi took over as president in August 2021. His last visit to Tehran was in 2014.

During the meeting, the foreign ministers of Iran and Belarus emphasized their will to implement joint agreements and develop and deepen relations as much as possible.