Speaking to the IRIB on Sunday night, Zarif said his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, has announced recently that Beijing was finalizing a proposal for the 25-year agreement with Tehran.
“I believe we’re not far away from the finalization of the agreement,” he added.
Asked about Iran’s role in the Caucasus, Zarif pointed to the US’ pressures and the attempts to bypass Iran in that region, saying one of the proposals made by Iran and China in the 25-year agreement, at least for now, is that Iran should be part of the transit routes in the region.
All neighbors should pursue a win-win approach, he said, adding that Iran can now work with a consortium to set up a route in the Caucasus to establish calm.
“Our strategic view on the region must be inclusive, not based on omission. Iran is indispensable to the region. Nobody can omit Iran from the regional equations,” Zarif underlined.
He also expressed hope that cooperation among the six parties in the consortium would prevent a recurrence of the previous conditions.
In a tweet on Friday, Iran’s ambassador to Beijing said the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with China would be coupled with good news about the relations between the two nations.
In 2020, Iran and China drafted a 25-year plan for economic cooperation.