Moscow: US Sanctions No Obstacle to Cooperation with Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that possible US sanctions against Russia are not a constraint for Moscow to cooperate with other countries, including Iran.
Peskov declined to comment on an "oil-for-goods" deal with Iran and said that possible US sanctions against Russia do not restrict the country's cooperation with other countries.
“The US threatens sanctions for practically anything Russia does; this is not a restraining factor,” Peskov said.
On August 4, Moscow and Tehran signed a five-year memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting bilateral economic cooperation, RIA Novosti reported.
The memorandum followed media reports saying that the White House had sought to derail the Russian-Iranian agreement on crude deliveries with threats of tougher sanctions against both countries.
Three days after the deal between Tehran and Russia, the US Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said the US may introduce new sanctions against Russian companies due to the recently signed oil deal.
In the meantime, Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the country’s participation in Iranian crude oil deliveries, including to Russia, does not violate UN Security Council resolutions restricting cooperation with Tehran over its nuclear program.
“The Iranian side has offered (Russia) to take part in arranging shipments of (Iranian) crude oil…the actual delivery volumes will be determined according to the market demand,” Novak said in a statement.
“I’d like to emphasize that cooperation between our countries does not violate the UN Security Council's resolutions,” Novak said.