All news

Unilateral sanctions against Iran upset settlement – Russia’s UN envoy

The Russian envoy said that in some cases the sanctions were “extra-territorial,” in other words, operating outside the countries that introduced them
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

UNITED NATIONS, December 14 (Itar-Tass) —— The unilateral sanctions the United States and other countries have imposed on Teheran undermine the international efforts for settling the Iranian nuclear dossier issue, Russia’s permanent envoy, Vitaly Churkin, said on Thursday. He was speaking at the open meeting of the UN Security Council, devoted to the implementation of sanctions against Iran.

“Russia fully complies with all UN Security Council resolutions regarding Iran. We are certain that the effectiveness of sanctions and the collective, united action by the international community for settling the Iranian nuclear program issue are undermined by the additionally introduced unilateral sanctions,” the Russian envoy said, adding that in some cases the sanctions were “extra-territorial,” in other words, operating outside the countries that introduced them. Churkin said “this is categorically unacceptable from the standpoint of international law.”

Teheran, a party to the Nuclear Arms Non-Proliferation Treaty, has for the past few years actively worked on nuclear technologies, saying, though that all research was exclusively peaceful. The international community has certain doubts on that score. Israel has flatly accused Iran of working on nuclear weapons and warned it is prepared to attack the Iranian nuclear facilities.

In an attempt to persuade Iran to cooperate with the international community, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN Security Council introduced sanctions against Teheran. The United States and the European Union have taken unilateral measures.