Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg as part of a trip that begins on Monday for talks over the Islamic republic's war with the United States and Israel, Tehran's ambassador to Moscow said.

Russia and Tehran, who are both subject to fierce Western sanctions, have developed an increasingly close relationship in recent years.

Tehran's ambassador Kazem Jalali wrote on X that Araghchi would meet Putin in Russia's second biggest city.

"Continuing the diplomatic jihad to advance the country's interests and amidst external threats, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran will meet with the President of Russia during his visit to St Petersburg," he wrote.

Iran's ISNA news agency earlier quoted Jalali as saying "Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow," without providing a location for the talks.

The meeting would take place on Monday, Jalali said according to ISNA, adding that Araghchi would "consult Russian officials regarding the latest status of the negotiations, ceasefire, and surrounding developments".

Russia's foreign ministry confirmed on Sunday that Araghchi would travel to Moscow "with the aim of holding talks", the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement that Araghchi had already left Islamabad for Russia on Sunday.

His stopover in the Pakistani capital on the way to Russia was his second visit there in less than 24 hours, having also travelled to Oman, as mediators pushed to keep peace talks with the United States alive in a bid to end the war that began on February 28.

There has been no second round of direct talks between Washington and Tehran, despite a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran beginning more than two weeks ago.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Iran could telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to their two-month war, stressing that Tehran can never have a nuclear weapon.

Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded on Saturday when Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

"If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines," Trump told "The Sunday Briefing" on Fox News.

"They know what has to be in the agreement. It's very simple: They cannot have a nuclear weapon, otherwise there's no reason to meet," Trump said. (Agencies)



Edited by Cecil Wong