Tehran [Iran], June 13: Iran's Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto highlighted the necessity to further expand bilateral relations and cooperation, especially in the face of the U.S. sanctions.
The two sides met on the sidelines of the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, and stressed the need to support Palestinians and condemn Israel for its attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
Bagheri Kani pointed to the "diverse and numerous" projects for bilateral cooperation, calling for more continuous interactions and communications between Iranian and Venezuelan officials in different areas to further develop bilateral relations.
While turning to the war in Gaza, Bagheri Kani urged that the international community should make greater efforts to stop the Israeli "war and crimes" and facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to the "oppressed" people of the Palestinian coastal enclave.
The Venezuelan foreign minister, for his part, extended condolences and sympathy over the deaths of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash on May 19, underscoring the important and influential roles the two played in supporting the deepening and expansion of all-out relations between Tehran and Caracas.
Pinto said given that the two countries were under the U.S. "cruel" sanctions, it was important that they follow up on the implementation of the joint projects more seriously and further promote cooperation to counter the embargoes.
He added that the Venezuelan people and government have been making efforts to defend the Palestinians' rights, and use all its capabilities and political capacities to condemn the Israeli "crimes."
Source: Xinhua
