U.S. tried to disrupt Russian-Iranian memorandum on mutual understanding - newspaper
MOSCOW. Aug 6 (Interfax) - Washington tried to disrupt a contract between Moscow and Tehran under which Russia would buy Iranian oil in exchange for providing Iran with machinery, equipment, metals, grain and services, Kommersant reported on Wednesday.
"The U.S. tried to disrupt the deal by threatening Russian and Iranian companies with sanctions," Kommersant quoted unnamed Russian government sources as saying.
The White House believes the dramatic intensification of cooperation between Moscow and Tehran goes against the international sanctions still in effect against Iran and intermediary agreements on the Iranian nuclear problem reached last year, the sources said.
The Barack Obama administration is concerned that revenues from the deal with Moscow would make Tehran less interested in achieving a lasting compromise on its nuclear program, they said.
The U.S. Embassy to Moscow refrained from commenting on the matter to Kommersant.
Meanwhile, experts are of the view that the signature of the Russian-Iranian memorandum right now can be explained in large part by the growing rift in relations between Russia and the West.
"Moscow, which has contributed quite a lot of effort to a diplomatic resolution of the Iran nuclear issue, was willing to refrain from steps that could have prompted the U.S.' harsh reaction. But the situation has changed. Russia is now less inclined to listen to the U.S.' recommendations, while Iran, whose significance has dramatically increased for the West due to the events in Iraq and the need to look for alternatives to Russian hydrocarbons, has gotten more room for maneuver," Andrei Baklitsky, an expert from the PIR Center think tank, told Kommersant.
Experts interviewed by the newspaper also mentioned growing competition for the Iranian market as another reason for Russia's decision to step up the implementation of its plans related to Tehran.
Since the end of 2013, when the process of lifting the sanctions from Iran was started, a number of representative business delegations from China, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Sweden and some other countries have visited Tehran, Kommersant says.
It was reported earlier that the co-chairs of the Russian-Iranian standing intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh, met in Moscow to sign a memorandum on mutual understanding between the two governments for five years.
The Russian Energy Ministry said in a statement that the document envisions broader trade and economic cooperation in some sectors, including the construction and reconstruction of power generating facilities, the development of the power grid infrastructure, the oil and gas sector, and shipments of machinery, equipment, consumer goods, and agricultural products.
In particular, Kommersant said Russia would buy Iranian oil. The parties first discussed quite large amounts, i.e. up to 500,000 barrels a day, or 25 million tonnes a year, which makes about a quarter of all Iranian oil production. However, the parties later agreed on a more modest amount (2.5 million to 3 million tonnes a year) to be procured by a state-controlled trader specifically set up for the purpose.
Kommersant's sources said Iran would sell Russia oil "with some discount to Brent." At the present time, this discount is about $5 per barrel, and, based on the June quotations, the yearly contract could be worth $2.35 billion.
Russian Ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzhagarian said in an interview with Kommersant that, apart from crude oil, Iran could sell Russia "petrochemical products, cement, carpets, and processed vegetables and fruits" and buy Russia's products and services.
Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said Tehran is interested in buying Russian machinery, rails, heavy trucks, metals and grain.
Kommersant's sources aware of details of the negotiations said the Russian state corporation Rostec would participate in the deal with Iran.