Iran calls for expanding trade with Belarus to counter Western sanctions

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that Iran's expansion of economic and trade ties with Belarus can help minimise the impact of sanctions imposed by the US and West on both countries.

Qalibaf made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in the capital of Tehran, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a report by the Iranian official news agency IRNA.

He also urged unity of all the countries under the "cruel sanctions" of the US-led West.

Qalibaf noted that in the wake of the economic war that has been waged by the West, the Eurasian Economic Union member states are required to expand cooperation among themselves, and to this end, practical steps are needed and cumbersome bureaucracy and paperwork should be eliminated.

"We are witnessing the West's double-standard behaviour as terrorists are perpetrating acts of terror in the Middle East. This comes as the West and the US were the ones to have created the Islamic State in the region," he said, pointing to a "terrorist attack" on a holy shrine in southern Iran on Wednesday that killed 15 and injured 19.

For his part, the Belarusian minister condemned the attack, calling for punishing those behind the attack.

Makei noted that Belarus, which adopts independent domestic and foreign policies, is opposed to imposing sanctions and "illegal" pressures on any countries.

Belarus sees Iran as its friend and will make efforts to move toward forming a more strategic partnership with Tehran, he added.

--IANS

int/sha