MOSCOW, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Tehran said it will preserve the 2015 nuclear deal with Russia despite Washington's decision to withdraw.
"Iran and Russia should guarantee our common interests, which are to preserve the deal and ensure economic benefits for all participants," RIA Novosti news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying on Monday following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.
Zarif said after Moscow he will travel to Brussels to meet with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany.
There was no press conference following the Lavrov-Zarif talks in Moscow, and the Russian Foreign Ministry only said in a brief statement that the main focus of the conversation was the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal; both ministers agreed to maintain close contact on this issue.
Before visiting Moscow, Zarif went to China on Sunday for talks with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that the United States would withdraw from the deal, a landmark agreement signed in 2015 by Iran, Russia, the United States, Britain, China, France and Germany.
Trump claimed that the deal had failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or supporting terrorism in the region, which Tehran denies.
