Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh has urged Russia to boost ties with Tehran in the face of US sanctions and praised the country's role in helping to stabilize global crude oil markets through the OPEC+ coalition, the oil ministry news service Shana reported.
"Under the current conditions, including the imposition of unfair US sanctions on Iran and Russia, strengthening convergence and cooperation between the two countries is very important and effective," Zanganeh said Dec. 21 on a trip to Moscow, according to Shana.
"We also call for the deepening of these collaborations in order to neutralize the consequences of sanctions," he added, describing Russia as a "strategic partner."
At a meeting with Russia's deputy prime minister Alexander Novak and energy minister Nikolay Shulginov, Zanganeh said he also discussed "the stabilization of the global oil market."
"Russia has had a determining role over these years in stability of the global oil market. And given the serious cooperation within the framework of OPEC+, we had some talks together. Our views in this area are close to each other's," he said.
Zanganeh also noted the importance of the OPEC+ group's intention to hold monthly meetings to maintaining stability in the global oil market and addressing issues that might arise.
Iranian-Russian cooperation
As for Iran-Russia energy cooperation, the Iranian minister stressed that any joint projects with Russia should include local content.
"It was agreed that these collaborations continue with Russian companies both in the oil and gas area and equipment manufacturing," he said.
"Some decisions were made and we will see them through in order to boost bilateral ties... if Russian equipment manufacturers want to work in Iran, they should come and make investment considering the rule of maximum use of domestic capability. They should partner with Iranian companies and negotiate with them to reach results," he said.
He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the signing of deals this year.
