TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign
Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian has told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov over phone that he hopes the crisis in Ukraine will be settled through political channels.
Amir-Abdollahian said that efforts are underway for the repatriation of Iranian nationals living in Ukraine through neighboring countries.
“It is our serious priority to ensure security and health of Iranian citizens living in Ukraine and we expect that grounds will be prepared for their safe exit,” he added.
The top Russian diplomat briefed his Iranian counterpart on his country’s stance on the Ukrainian crisis and slammed the West’s position in this regard.
Lavrov assured Amir-Abdollahian that Russia is serious about protecting the lives of foreign citizens in Ukraine, including Iranians.
Separately, the Iranian foreign minister called for the Hungarian government’s assistance to return Iranian citizens from Ukraine in a phone conversation with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.
Amir-Abdollahian made a similar request in a phone call with his Slovakian counterpart Ivan Korcok.
“We call on the Slovakian government to cooperate and assist with the entry of Iranian nationals from Ukraine to Slovakia without a visa,” he said.
The top Slovak diplomat announced his country’s readiness to cooperate with Iranian citizens to leave Ukraine through the Slovakian border without the need for a visa.
Iranian citizens can enter Slovakia through the borders of Ukraine and travel to Iran, Korcok said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s embassy in Romania said Iranian nationals residing in Ukraine can apply for visa at Romanian diplomatic missions in Ukraine.
On Friday, Iran’s ambassador to Ukraine visited a shelter where a group of Iranian students are taking refuge in Kiev.
Ambassador Manouchehr Moradi visited the site after footage went viral of an Iranian student who said his fellow citizens were holed up at the shelter.
“The Iranian government has urged Iranian students to leave Ukrainian soil, but it is not possible to get out because the borders are closed,” said the student in a video post.
After visiting the site, Moradi assured the students that the Iranian government was doing its utmost to facilitate their exit.
In a statement, the embassy said any Iranian reaching Poland’s border will be transferred to Warsaw and then to Iran.
Head of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran (CAO) Muhammad Muhammadi Bakhsh said a passenger plane was ready to be sent to Poland to bring the Iranian citizens home if a permit is issued.