Moscow to keep seeking further intl nuke talks with Iran - Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Oct 17 (Interfax) - Moscow will continue lobbying for the resumption of the international community's talks with Iran on the latter's nuclear program, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"We will continue to consistently seek the earliest possible organization of the next round of negotiations in the 'sextet'-Iran format," the ministry said in answering questions from Interfax.
"It was with deep concern that we took the approval by the European Union on October 15 of a new package of unilateral sanctions against Iran, which involve restrictions on supplies of Iranian natural gas and the transportation of oil, the enlargement of the list of goods whose export to Iran is banned, stricter measures against the Iranian banking sector, and a longer EU black list of legal entities and individuals," the ministry said in its answers, posted on its website, www.mid.ru.
"We reiterate that we do not consider unilateral sanctions that are applied by individual states and associations and bypass the UN Security Council to be legitimate instruments of international politics," it said.
"Practice shows that the use of such measures is not conducive to the solution of key international problems but, moreover, makes the situation worse," the ministry said.
"The EU's actions impede the resumption of negotiations with Iran, a process in which, in our opinion, certain progress has become traceable," it said.
"Attempts to use exterritorial sanctions are unacceptable and impermissible in any case. We are forced to state again that the shortsighted actions of the EU countries deal a tangible blow to the unity of the 'sextet' international mediators," the ministry said.
