France Ready to Start New Chapter in Bilateral Relations With Iran, Macron Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - French President Emmanuel Macron pointed to the need to review relations between France and Iran during phone talks with Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian presidential office said.

Macron talked with Raisi over the phone on Sunday.

"We should start a new movement with new axes in the relations between the two countries and start relations in various political, economic, cultural and regional cooperation areas," Macron said, as quoted by the Iranian presidential office.

In his turn, Raisi said that Iran welcomed Macron’s proposal to review relations between the two countries and start a new chapter in bilateral relations and Tehran-Paris regional cooperation.

"The Iranian government welcomes the development of relations with France, especially in the economic and trade fields, and we are ready to start comprehensive cooperation with Europe from France," Raisi said as quoted by the Iranian presidential office.

The Iranian president reiterated his call for the lifting of sanctions, saying that "negotiation for negotiation is useless."

The two leaders also discussed the recent developments in Afghanistan, agreeing that the future government in the country should reflect the will of the Afghan people.