President Ebrahim Raisi said besides expanding bilateral economic and trade ties, Iran and Finland can cooperate at regional and international levels in areas such as human rights and the fight against terrorism and organized crime.
He made the remarks in a meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in Tehran on Monday.
Highlighting Helsinki’s good relations with the Islamic Republic, Raisi stressed that the ties should not be affected by third parties, President.ir reported.
The Finnish top diplomat also said his country attaches great importance to Iran and the great capacities that exist for increasing mutual cooperation between the two states.
“We will work toward expanding bilateral ties as well as cooperation on regional security and global peace,” he said.
Referring to the crisis in Afghanistan, Raisi said Iran has been hosting refugees as part of its neighborly and humanitarian responsibility, while Europe has been shirking its duties in this regard.
The two officials also discussed the status of the 2015 nuclear deal, which has been unraveling since the United States pulled out and Iran reduced its compliance in response to the reimposed American sanctions.
“The one who violated the deal was the Americans and the ones who failed to meet their commitments were the Europeans,” the president said.
He added that in case of sanctions removal, the grounds are prepared for an agreement on the revival of the deal in ongoing talks in the Austrian capital Vienna.
“Iran has proved that it adheres to its commitments, but we will not keep our economy on hold for [the fate of] the JCPOA,” he said, using the abbreviation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally called.
Haavisto had earlier held a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, where they discussed a range of bilateral, regional and international issues.
