MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/. Russia is disappointed with the decision of the UK, Germany and France to get rid of the mechanism of settlements with Iran, INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, a tool to support trade exchanges with Iran, bypassing US sanctions).
This was stated in a commentary distributed on Wednesday by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
"The joint statement published on March 9 by the UK, Germany and France on the decision of INSTEX shareholder countries to liquidate this mechanism is disappointing," the diplomat said.
As Zakharova pointed out, this "draws the final line under the efforts of the European participants in the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian Nuclear Program - TASS) and the European Union to form an infrastructure for international settlements for mutually beneficial cooperation and legitimate trade with Iran, notwithstanding the illegitimate sanctions obstacles by the U.S."
Stress test for EU
"INSTEX was considered by the international community as one of the tangible manifestations of the EU’s ambitious aspirations to gain genuine strategic autonomy and take an independent place in a polycentric world. Today we have to state again that "united Europe" has once again failed the test of political independence, the ability to repel the illegal actions of the United States, who violated their obligations under the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolution 2231. Now, the EU is limply observing the continuation of the American policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran," the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stressed.
As Zakharova noted Moscow would not like to think that the founders of INSTEX deliberately set unreasonable expectations and misled the business community, primarily in their own countries, who were interested in maintaining stable trade and economic ties with Tehran and needed protection from Washington's attacks.
"One can only guess about the real reasons that prompted the founders and shareholders of INSTEX to bury their brainchild. It is clear that commercial reasons are the least of it," she added.
According to the diplomat, looking back at the four years of INSTEX's existence, one can conclude that "Europeans, in fact, have succeeded in their core competence," which is to design a bureaucratic machine, assign offices and titles, and also lay the foundations for the functioning of INSTEX.
"But, as it often happens with them, it looked pretty only on paper. This mechanism could not fully work. Their attempts to shift the blame for their failure to Iran sound ridiculous and discredit those in Europe who were at least engaged in something constructive amid the American policy of destruction," the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman summed up.
Wake-up call
As Zakharova noted, those who decided to liquidate INSTEX did not have the nerve to admit that the European business and banking community did not believe in the ability of Brussels and INSTEX shareholders to create a secure environment for cooperation with Tehran.
"That is why there was so much uncertainty about the coverage of INSTEX," she said. The diplomat recalled that in the face of American threats the settlement mechanism was limited to the supply of humanitarian products, but in the end it was not used even for this purpose.
"What happened with INSTEX is a very clear ‘wake-up call’ about the inability of European countries to seriously fight for the JCPOA and international law in general, defending those decisions that were sealed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231," the diplomat concluded.