Russian President Vladimir Putin Says Additional Sanctions Against Iran Counterproductive

Edited by Juan Leandro
2013-12-20 17:34:14

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Moscow, December 20 (RHC)-- Russian President Vladimir Putin says further sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran over its nuclear energy program are “counterproductive.”  In an interview on Press TV, Putin referred to the latest U.S. sanctions against Iranian companies and individuals, Putin described any new restrictive measures against Tehran as counterproductive.

Speaking at his annual news conference in Moscow on Thursday, the Russian president added that the sanctions will adversely affect the recent deal struck between Iran and six major world powers in the Swiss city of Geneva over Tehran’s civilian nuclear activities.  Putin also defended Iran’s right to access peaceful nuclear technology, stressing that no country has the right to demand any discriminatory restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program.

On December 12th, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama issued new sanctions against more than a dozen companies and individuals for “providing support for” Iran’s nuclear energy program.  The new sanctions came despite an interim deal which was signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain -- plus Germany in Geneva on November 24 to pave the way for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program.

Under the Geneva deal, the six countries have undertaken to lift some of the existing sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no more sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same time-frame.

On December 15th, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the recent U.S. sanctions against a number of Iranian entities a very wrong move, noting that Tehran still honors the interim nuclear deal it reached with the six world powers.


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