Expanding U.S. anti-Iranian sanction lists unacceptable, against int'l law - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Feb 7 (Interfax) - Moscow is deeply concerned about the decision of the U.S. Departments of State and Finance of February 6 to add a number of Iranian and foreign organizations and citizens to the U.S. sanction lists, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"We have said repeatedly that such decisions contradict the spirit of the Geneva agreements, where it is stipulated in particular that Washington refrains from introducing new sanctions related to the nuclear activities of Tehran. We consider the step made to be unacceptable and that it contradicts international law. We also utterly resent any attempts to project the U.S. domestic legislation on third countries and to use sanctions against companies and private individuals of states fulfilling diligently the demands of the UN Security Council resolutions on the Iranian topic," the Foreign Ministry posted a statement on its website.
This is the second such decision of Washington in the past two months, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "At that, the expansion of applying the restrictions occurs amid the successful start of implementing the joint plan of actions passed by the foreign ministers of the P5+1 of international mediators and Iran in Geneva on November 24, 2013," the document said.
"The fact that another expansion of the U.S. black lists occurred almost ahead of the talks to draft a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program is especially alarming. Such actions of the U.S. do not contribute to preserving the 'spirit of Geneva' and can significantly affect the negotiating process," the statement said.
It has been reported that the U.S. administration expanded the sanctions regarding some companies and private citizens from a number of countries claiming they support the development of the Iranian nuclear program.
The sanctions apply to citizens of Afghanistan, Turkey, Spain, Germany, Georgia, the UAE, Liechtenstein and Iran, the U.S. Department of Treasury said.
The companies and their executives, regarding whom the sanctions were introduced, will see that their assets are frozen and that U.S. companies refuse to cooperate with them, U.S. Treasury's Under Secretary David Cohen said.
The U.S. treats with respect the joint plan of actions passed in Geneva in November of Tehran and the P5+1, however the majority of the sanctions have remained in effect, Cohen said.
