Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad- Javad Zarif on Monday said that he has no plan to visit Saudi Arabia in the first place, because the dates coincide with some of his other pre-planned tasks.
Earlier this week, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Saudi Arabia had invited Zarif to attend the annual meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
On Sunday the state IRINN TV reported that Zarif could not take the trip to Saudi Arabia because the OIC meeting is concurrent with the nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers slated for June 16.
Zarif was quoted by media on Monday as saying that the trip, instead of being canceled, does not exist at all in the first, because "it is coincided with my other tasks pre-planned."
The Saudi invitation for Zarif to visit the kingdom is considered as a signal to improve bilateral relations, since the two countries have held significant disagreements on some regional issues, including the situation in Syria and Bahrain, as well as Iran's nuclear program.
Both Iran and Saudi Arabia "welcome negotiations and meetings to help resolve regional problems, clear misunderstandings and further expand bilateral relations," Amir-Abdollahian said. Endi
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