Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref has asked Russia to strengthen its ports on the Caspian Sea to support the supply of grain and staple foods between the two countries.
Aref made the request during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Monday, October 19. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation council of heads of government.
"We continue to supply our northern ports,” said Aref, according to an official Russian translation of his remarks.
“Moreover, we ask that the Russian Federation also strengthen and supply its country's southern ports on the Caspian Sea so that we can move forward specifically along these routes and supply each other.”
He said the northern route was of great importance, "especially for ensuring (supplies of) grain and basic foodstuffs". He added that Iran would continue bilateral interaction through its northern ports.
Aref also alleged that Ukraine had created disturbances in the region north of Iran. He described attacks in the Caspian basin as an attempt to create discord between Russia and Iran.
Mishustin said the North–South transport corridor, which links Eurasia with the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, was "developing actively". He identified transport infrastructure and agriculture among the areas of joint projects.
Russian grain shipments through the Caspian, primarily bound for Iran, rose 13.4 per cent year-on-year to 311,700 tonnes in August. Over the same month, Russia's Azov–Black Sea grain shipments fell 73.1 per cent.
