MOSCOW, April 12./TASS/. Moscow seeks to help Tehran and Washington find the right solution in the issue of the return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with IRNA news agency on Monday.
According to the top Russian diplomat, remedying the previous violations of the JCPOA and UNSC Resolution 2231 by the US "will create conditions for Iran to return to compliance with the requirements under the nuclear deal, in terms of both transparency and reconfiguration of the Iranian n
US’ policy of pressure
Moscow and Teheran reject the United States’ policy of extensive pressure on countries that conduct an independent foreign and domestic policy, Russian Foreign Minister said.
"The main problem, as we see it, is Washington's persistent unwillingness to abandon its flawed course towards upholding the US's global dominance, which was adopted in the early 1990's following the collapse of the Soviet Union," he said.
He drew attention to the phenomenon of the West’s unprecedented extensive pressure on countries that are pursuing an independent foreign and domestic policy based on their own national interests.
"This involves all sorts of tools ranging from financial sanctions and visa restrictions to disinformation campaigns and direct forceful interventions," he noted. "We are, in fact, faced with the relapse into neo-colonial thinking in foreign policy, which implies, among other things, dividing the world into the "chosen" countries and all the rest. While the former are offered an a priori pardon for any actions, the latter must presumably act in line with instructions issued by Washington. This is, of course, unacceptable for both Russia and Iran, as well as most countries of the world."
The Russian top diplomat stressed that Moscow thinks it important to strengthen foreign policy cooperation with Teheran, including within the United Nations and other multilateral formats. "Especially given that, as I have already mentioned, we have a lot of supporters - most of the members of the world community share the view that inter-State communication should be developed based on international law and principles of mutual respect, taking account of each other's interests. Like us, they consider zero-sum geopolitical games, sanctions, and blackmail to be unacceptable and advocate for consistent improvement of the situation in the world," he noted.
The Russian foreign minister stressed that it is now obvious that Washington’s policy towards maintaining its global dominance is absolutely counterproductive. "Particularly given that the objective process of shaping a fairer, more democratic and therefore more sustainable multipolar world order is gaining momentum right before our eyes," he added.
"Despite this, the United States, supported by its European allies, has been taking aggressive steps aimed at destroying the UN-centered international legal architecture and substituting it with the so-called "rule-based order." It is not that we oppose the idea of everyone following the rules, yet these rules should be developed not within a narrow circle comprising Washington and its satellites and bypassing the United Nations but within universal formats involving all key global players based on the existing universally recognized norms of international law," Lavrov said.
High level of interaction
Russia and Iran are actively cooperating on various tracks, the countries have reached ‘an unprecedentedly high level’ of interaction, Lavrov said.
"It is, to a large extent, due to the consistent implementation of the Treaty's provisions that our countries have reached such an unprecedentedly high level of interaction, which is today intensive and diversified," Lavrov said, referring to the Treaty on the Basis for Mutual Relations and the Principles of Cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation.
According to the top Russian diplomat, "development of ties with Iran is one of Russia's foreign policy priorities". He reiterated that by signing the treaty in 2001, the sides confirmed mutual commitment to building relations on the principles of equality and mutual trust.
"Russia and Iran undertook to respect each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence and not to interfere into each other's internal affairs," he reiterated.
"We are strengthening our ties in the political, trade, economic, scientific and technological, cultural, humanitarian and some other fields. Implementation of major infrastructure projects is underway in Iran, including the construction and operation of the Bushehr nuclear power plant," Lavrov went on to say.
"Cooperation in the field of healthcare and fight against the spread of the COVID-19 infection is advancing. Iran is supplied with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, and there are plans to organize its production in the Iranian territory," the foreign minister said.
Regional stability
"Moscow and Teheran work closely to ensure the full implementation of the JCPOA," Lavrov stressed. They also coordinate efforts "to achieve a Syrian settlement within the Astana format, which has proved its effectiveness, and hold regular dialogue on the situation in the Middle East as a whole". "We can confidently say that the Russian-Iranian cooperation contributes to maintaining regional stability, and, more broadly, to the development of international relations on the basis of the principles enshrined in the UN Charter," the foreign minister went on to say.
"During the forthcoming negotiations with my Iranian counterpart, Mr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, I am planning to discuss ways to further enhance the multifaceted Russian-Iranian ties," he said.