Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that he has received guarantees from the United States that Western sanctions on Moscow over its Ukraine invasion would not affect cooperation with Iran as part of the framework of a new nuclear deal.
“We received written guarantees. They are included in the text of the agreement itself on the resumption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] on the Iranian nuclear program,” Lavrov said, reported AFP.
The statement by Lavrov came in the midst of a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Moscow.
Amirabdollahian said that “there will be no connection between developments in Ukraine and the Vienna talks.”
“If we reach an agreement with the U.S. on remaining issues which relate to some of Iran’s main red lines, based on my talks with Mr. Lavrov today, Russia will remain beside the Islamic Republic of Iran until reaching a good and sustainable agreement, continuing to play the constructive role it has played since the start.”
Last Friday, negotiations between Iran and the world powers (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany) were put on hold reportedly over Russia’s objections to taking part in the negotiations while under Western sanctions due to its role in the invasion of Ukraine. The announcement came as the parties appeared to be on the verge of announcing the new agreement. No timeline has been given as to when talks would resume.
Senate Republicans wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday that they would not support a new nuclear deal with Iran and vowed to “reverse” any agreement that weakens sanctions or restrictions against the Islamic Republic.
