Lavrov, Zarif Talk on Phone

The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia discussed on phone the latest developments surrounding the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the summit of the Caspian Sea states. According to a report by Sputnik, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov talked about a comprehensive bilateral road map for the Iran nuclear deal, or JCPOA, on Monday. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the conversation revolved around Iran and Russia’s mutual cooperation as well as some regional and international issues with focus on the JCPOA and the next summit of the five Caspian Sea littoral states. Russia is a main supporter of the Iran nuclear deal, from which the US has withdrawn unilaterally. Heads of the five Caspian states—Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan—are scheduled to meet in the Kazakh city of Aktau on August 16, during which the long-awaited convention on the Caspian Sea legal regime is expected to be finalized.