Beijing, April 14: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China on Tuesday for a two-day official visit to discuss the bilateral cooperation across key sectors, as well as the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.

Earlier on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that during his visit to China from April 14-15, the Foreign Minister will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

“The two countries’ foreign ministers will discuss a wide range of bilateral cooperation issues, prospects for contacts at various levels, and international collaboration, with a focus on joint work within the UN, BRICS, SCO, G20, APEC, and other multilateral mechanisms and forums. A detailed exchange of views is expected on a number of hot topics and regional issues, including the Ukrainian crisis and the situation in the Middle East,” it added.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing that during this visit, the foreign ministers of the two countries will exchange views and coordinate positions on the development of bilateral ties, cooperation in various fields, and international and regional issues of mutual concern, according to Xinhua news agency.

This also came as Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday admitted that the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is likely to impact international markets negatively.

“Most likely, such actions will continue to negatively impact international markets; this can be assumed with a high degree of certainty,” the Kremlin spokesman was quoted as saying by Russia’s leading Tass news agency during a regular media briefing in Moscow.

Responding to another question, he asserted that details on the US blocking of the Strait of Hormuz remain unclear.

“Many details here remain unclear and incomprehensible, so I would refrain from any substantive comments at this time,” Peskov commented on the US threat of blocking the strait.

On Sunday, the United States made it clear that it will begin enforcing a sweeping maritime blockade of vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports from April 13, escalating tensions after high-stakes talks between Washington and Tehran failed to yield agreement on key issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

Tehran, April 13: Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that the only way for the United States to find an exit from the current situation is to make its decision and gain the Iranian nation’s trust.

He made the remarks in an address to reporters on the way back to Iran from his trip to Pakistan, where he, along with his accompanying team, took part in peace talks with the US delegation, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The United States is indebted to Iranian people and needs to work hard to indemnify them,” Qalibaf said.

“If they fight, we will fight; and if they come forth with logic, we will react with logic. We will not surrender to any threat,” the parliament speaker added. “They can test our will once again and we will teach them a greater lesson.”

Qalibaf described the talks with the US delegation in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad as very “intensive, serious and challenging,” saying benefiting from capable experts and with a comprehensive and diverse perspective, Iran’s delegation designed “excellent initiatives” to demonstrate the country’s goodwill, “which led to progress in the negotiations.”

“We announced from the very beginning that we do not trust the Americans. Our wall of distrust dates back to 77 years ago. This comes as in less than 12 months, they attacked us two times in the middle of negotiations. Thus, they are the ones who must earn our trust,” he stressed.

Qalibaf dismissed recent threats by US President Donald Trump against Iran, saying such threats fail to have any impact on Iranian people.

Delegations from Iran and the United States held lengthy negotiations in Islamabad on Saturday and early Sunday. The talks, which failed to lead to an agreement, took place after a ceasefire was announced on Wednesday between Iran, the United States and Israel following 40 days of fighting.

Tehran, April 13: Iran has accused the United States of derailing a potential breakthrough agreement, saying that “maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade tactics” prevented what was “inches away” from becoming the proposed “Islamabad MoU”, after 21 hours of intense negotiations ended without a deal.

In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had entered into its highest-level direct engagement with Washington in 47 years with sincerity and intent to help bring an end to the ongoing conflict, but lamented that there were “zero lessons earned”.

His assertion that both sides were “inches away” from finalising an agreement highlighted how close the talks had come to success before tensions escalated sharply at the final stage.

“In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with US in good faith to end war. But when just inches away from ‘Islamabad MoU’, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade. Zero lessons earned. Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity,” Araghchi posted on X.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough with the United States still exists, provided Washington changes its approach. He urged the US to abandon what he termed “totalitarianism” and to respect Iran’s rights, suggesting that such a shift could pave the way for an agreement.

“If the American government abandons its totalitarianism and respects the rights of the Iranian nation, ways to reach an agreement will certainly be found,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X, while praising members of the negotiating delegation.

Meanwhile, the United States announced that it will begin enforcing a sweeping maritime blockade of vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports from April 13, escalating tensions after high-stakes talks between Washington and Tehran failed to yield agreement on key issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

The move, announced by US Central Command (CENTCOM), follows a presidential directive and will target “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports”, including those along the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations,” CENTCOM said, adding that US forces would not impede ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

Commercial mariners have been advised to monitor official navigation warnings and remain in contact with US naval forces while operating in the region.

The announcement came hours after US President Donald Trump declared that negotiations with Iran had stalled over its nuclear ambitions, despite progress on other fronts.