Russia Sees Opportunity to Lift Anti-Iran Sanctions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Russia’s foreign ministry said there were still chances to lift international sanctions against Iran.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it believed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear energy program could provide an opportunity to lift the sanctions which have been imposed on the Islamic Republic, reported RT Arabic.
The statement reiterates that despite the difficult path of negotiations, it is possible to fulfil the rights of Iran as a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including the right to enrich uranium.
In 2006, the United Nations Security Council, under the US pressures, passed Resolution 1696 and imposed sanctions on Iran over its uranium enrichment program. US sanctions initially targeted investments in oil, gas and petrochemicals, and exports of refined petroleum products. Anti-Iran sanctions are the toughest the world community has imposed on any country.
Recently, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani slammed the sanctions against the country over its peaceful nuclear energy program and called them as cruel and illegal.
On July 18, after more than two weeks of intensive diplomatic negotiations in Vienna, Iran and the six nations (US, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany which are known as Group 5+1) agreed to continue talks for another four months.
The two sides decided to extend the nuclear talks until November 24 in the hope of clinching a final deal. The four-month extension of the talks began on July 21.
