MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. Any side's blackmail and diktat is inadmissible in the Persian Gulf and in any other place in the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement posted on the Kremlin’s website on Friday.

In his statement, the Russian leader called for jointly overcoming problems arising in the region.

"In that region [the Persian Gulf], like in any other point in the world, there must be no place for anyone’s blackmail and diktat. Unilateral approaches towards searching for solutions do not help," Putin stressed.

As the Russian leader recalled, in 2019 Russia submitted a renewed concept of security in the Persian Gulf, which "stipulated specific ways for effectively resolving the tangle of problems in that region."

"We are convinced that the problems can be overcome, if we treat each other’s positions with due attention and responsibility and act with respect and on a collective basis," the statement reads.

Heat turned up on Iran

Accusations against Iran voiced within the United Nations Security Council are absolutely groundless, Vladimir Putin stated.

The Russian leader noted that discussions on the Iran nuclear deal within the United Nations Security Council "are becoming more and more heated."

"The situation is escalating. Groundless accusations are being voiced against Iran. Resolutions geared to break down the Security Council’s former unanimous decisions are being drafted," he stressed.

"Russia stays committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to settle the situation around the Iranian nuclear program. Its signing back in 2015 was a major political and diplomatic achievement and has made it possible to avert the threat of an armed conflict and to consolidate the nuclear nonproliferation regime," Putin emphasized.

According to the Russian leader, "it is important to preserve the positive ‘heritage’ that has been attained through serious efforts" when building a comprehensive architecture of security in the Gulf.

Russia's concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf

Russia published its concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf in July 2019. The concept laid out such principles as stage-by-stage efforts, multilateral approaches and strict observance of international law, primarily, the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions. The document formulated the long-term strategic task of creating a comprehensive mechanism of collective security and cooperation in the Persian Gulf to involve all the region’s states on an equal footing.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft announced on Wednesday that the United States had submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on extending the embargo on selling conventional weapons to Iran and buying them from it, urging all the Security Council members to support this initiative. Written voting is already underway. According to a TASS source in the organization, the voting results will be made public at 17:30 New York time on August 14 (00:30 Moscow time on August 15).

Under the Iran nuclear deal, the restrictions on selling armaments to Iran expire on October 18. US officials have numerously stated that they will seek the embargo’s extension, despite the US pullout from the Iran nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, diplomats polled by TASS said they doubted that the draft resolution would be able to score nine votes so that a veto from a permanent Security Council member was needed to block it.

In June, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued a letter to the United Nations secretary-general pointing to the lack of any objective reasons to discuss the topic of the arms embargo extension at the UN Security Council. The Russian top diplomat recalled that under UN Security Council Resolution 2231 the procedure of arms supplies to Iran had a temporary nature. He stressed that it did not provide for the use of restrictions on weapons supplies to Iran after October 18, 2020 and there were neither legal nor any other reasons to revise it.