ISTANBUL

Russia and Iran signed an agreement Tuesday to counter unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and Western countries.

“We signed the Declaration on Ways and Means to Counteract, Mitigate and Compensate for the Negative Consequences of Unilateral Coercive Measures,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said ahead of a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow.

Lavrov said the agreement is an important step in “increasing the coordination of efforts by members of the world community to overcome illegal sanctions.”

He also accused the US and its allies of making the sanctions a “substitute for diplomacy.”

Lavrov and Amir-Abdollahian’s meeting comes after both diplomats participated in talks between all five Caspian states, which was also attended by their Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Turkmen counterparts.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​