Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif arrived here in Russian capital city Monday night at the top of a delegation to attend the Moscow Caspian Sea Littoral States Foreign Ministers Conference, IRNA reported.
After arrival in Moscowˈs Vnukovo Airport, Zarif was officially welcomed by the Russian Foreign Ministry officials, the Iranian ambassador to the Russian Federation, and the heads of the Iranian organizations in Moscow.
During his two-day visit of Moscow the Iranian top diplomat is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov tomorrow (on Tuesday) on the sidelines of the Caspian Sea Littoral States Conference.
Among the issues of high importance in Zarif-Lavrov meeting there will be the most significant developments in bilateral ties, the latest status of the Caspian Sea legal regime, international and regional developments, such as the aggravating status in Ukraine and the resolving crisis in Syria.
The Iranian foreign minister is meanwhile scheduled to have a meeting with the Iranians residing in Russia in the residence of the Iranian ambassador in Moscow on Tuesday.
Zarif and Lavrov will hold a joint press conference at the end of the Iranian foreign ministerˈs visit of the Russian capital city.
The Moscow 3rd Caspian Sea Littoral States Foreign Ministers Conference, comprised of the top diplomats of Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan and will be held in Moscow on Tuesday.
Atop the agenda of the Moscow conference there is preparing the draft of the 4th Caspian Sea Littoral States Conference communiqué, which is scheduled for September 2014 in Astrakhan, Russia.
The preliminary meeting of the legal affairs experts of the 5 Caspian Sea littoral countries was held today (on Monday) at Moscow World Trade Center and the head of the Iranian delegation in it was Deputy Foreign Minister for Asian and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour.
This is Zarifˈs second visit of Moscow as the Iranian foreign minister. His first visit was in March, 2014.
Rahimpour had earlier on Monday told IRNA that the Caspian Sea legal regime has not been finalized yet by the littoral states.
Talking to IRNA, he noted that despite the constructive talks among Caspian Sea littoral states, resolving the legal status of the world's largest inland sea needs more discussions.
Ministerial meeting of the Caspian Sea littoral states aims to prepare the ground for the fourth Caspian summit due to be held in Astrakhan in autumn, the deputy foreign minister added.
He noted that foreign ministers of the Caspian Sea littoral states will discuss the program and agenda of the summit as well as the final document.
The issue of the Caspian Sea's legal regime has gained importance following the breakup of the USSR and the emergence of newly independent states.
The meeting will also analyze the work done since the last Caspian summit in Baku in 2010.