U.S. sanctions do not help improve confidence with Iran - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Dec 13 (Interfax) - A decision made in the United States on imposing sanctions on certain Iranian companies and individuals may complicate the achievement of a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear program, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"Washington's actions do not help improve confidence between the negotiating parties or reach a comprehensive agreement aimed at resolving problems related to Iran's nuclear program by fully ensuring its rights stipulated by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary available on the ministry website on Friday.
Moscow is calling on the United States "to display as responsible an approach as possible so as to maintain the positive dynamics of the negotiating process," Zakharova said.
"The decision made public by the U.S. Department of State and the Department of the Treasury to add a number of Iranian organizations and individuals as well as legal entities and individuals from other countries cooperating with Iran to the U.S. sanction lists is objectionable," Zakharova said.
"Our principled position on illegitimacy of unilateral coercive measures remains unchanged. It constitutes the core of Russia's approach to such decisions," she said.
"However, as concerns the current situation, another thing is also significant. The expansion of the sanction lists has in fact coincided with the start of crucial work on implementing the Geneva action plan adopted by the foreign ministers of the P5+1 group and Iran in November. The U.S. administration's decision runs counter to the spirit of this document, which, in particular, says that it would refrain from imposing new sanctions related to Iran's nuclear activities," Zakharova said.
"The expansion of the U.S. blacklists may seriously complicate the implementation of the Geneva accords envisioning the relaxation of the sanction pressure," she said.
