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Merkel, Putin discuss Ukraine, Iran arms embargo, Libya

The arms embargo against Iran should be valid for five years, and is due to expire in November 2020

BERLIN, July 15. /TASS/. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone, Spokesman for the Cabinet of Germany Steffen Seibert said on Wednesday.

"The implementation of the Minsk agreements on the peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine topped the agenda of the conversation. The participants in the negotiations also discussed the military embargo against Iran and the current situation in Libya," he said.

In 2015, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2231 in support of the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. Under the deal, all sanctions against Tehran imposed from 2006 to 2010 were terminated. The arms embargo against Iran should be valid for five years, and is due to expire in November 2020.

The future of the Iranian nuclear deal was called into question after the United States unilaterally withdrew from it on May 8, 2018, and slapped oil export sanctions on Tehran. According to Iran, the remaining signatories, primarily the Europeans, are not fully adhering to their obligations associated with the economic part of the agreement, so the deal in its current form makes no sense.

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