Deputy secretary of Iran's snsc Ali Baqeri Deputy Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Baqeri has arrived in Russian capital of Moscow for talks with the nation's top officials. Baqeri, who headed to Moscow early Wednesday for a two-day official visit, is scheduled to hold discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the country's other political and security authorities. It is mentioned that Iran and Russia have witnessed growing relations in the past few months. Russia on Tuesday reaffirmed its opposition to an international embargo on oil exports from Iran and said it would block a United Nations Security Council resolution to that effect. The two sides also plan to exchange views on latest bilateral, regional and international issues as well as Tehran's upcoming comprehensive talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Russia, China, Britain, France and the US -- and Germany (P5+1). On January 8, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed that Iran and the P5+1 group of nations have agreed in principle to hold talks in Turkey. Iran's Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani welcomed on Monday Turkey's offer to host the upcoming comprehensive talks between Iran and the six major nuclear powers, saying Tehran sees no hurdles in holding multifaceted discussions with the P5+1 in Turkey. The last round of comprehensive talks between Iran and the P5+1 was held in Turkey's port city of Istanbul in January 2011. The negotiations ended in a stalemate as Iran reportedly rejected a demand for its suspension of enrichment activities in exchange for a pledge of trade and technology benefits. The US, the Israeli regime and their allies have engaged in a massive publicity campaign accusing Iran of plans to pursue a military diversion in its civilian nuclear program, using the allegation as a pretext to exert pressure on the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Tehran has categorically refuted Western allegation, saying that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to acquire and develop atomic technology for peaceful purposes.
