Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran expects European Union to take necessary steps to facilitate banking interactions with Tehran.


According to the report by Foreign Ministry Media Department on Saturday, Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius.
 Zarif said that the ties have upward trend and through consultations grounds can be prepared for expansion of bilateral political and parliamentary relations.
Enumerating Iran's economic and trade capacities, Zarif said that Iranian companies are ready for cooperation with Lithuanian public and private sectors in the fields of technology, energy, LNG, oil, agriculture, higher education, technical and engineering services .
In the meeting the two sides discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation as well as regional issues.
Concerning Syria's developments, Zarif said that respecting the Syrian people's will is the only solution to the crisis and support for terrorist groups will only undermine ceasefire and make political process more complicated.
Linkevicius, for his part, evaluated Tehran-Vilnius relations as positive and added that Lithuania is interested in expanding economic and trade ties with Iran. He added that Lithuanian companies are ready to deepen their cooperation with Iranian counterparts in post JCPOA era.
He expressed satisfaction with consultations between Iran and Lithuanian officials and added that the Islamic Republic plays an influential role in the region and Lithuania desires to strengthen relations with Iran in political, cultural and parliamentary fields.
At the end of the meeting, the two foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding for political consultations between the two countries.