site.btaForeign Minister Mitov Meets with Iran's President Ruhani

Foreign Minister Mitov Meets with Iran's President Ruhani

Tehran, December 20 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov met with Iranian President Hasan Ruhani on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said. Mitov is on a two-day official visit to Tehran.

Mitov and Ruhani discussed the good cooperation between their countries, ways to develop the gas and transport corridors between Iran and Europe, the Middle East crisis and the refugee flow.

Mitov said: "Bulgaria attaches a great importance to its relations with Iran. Our geographical proximity and traditionally good contacts account for our interest in a steady increase and improvement of dialogue."

For his part, President Ruhani said Bulgaria is Iran's close friend.

The Syria crisis was also on the agenda of the meeting. Mitov reiterated that Syria's territorial integrity should be preserved and the conflict should be settled with the countries of the region playing the leading role.

He also emphasized Bulgaria's position on reaching agreement on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear programme. "We hail the agreement and hope it will be implemented as soon as possible." This will open up new opportunities for developing bilateral relations between Iran and Bulgaria, and between Iran and the EU.

Earlier in the day Mitov visited the School of International Relations run by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and gave a talk on Bulgaria's views on the challenges and opportunities in the Middle East.