Russia on Friday welcomed initial steps taken by the United States to abandon sanctions against Iran, but stressed the particular importance of returning to the Iranian nuclear deal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters it was a “good thing” that the Washington was no longer calling for international sanctions on Iran, saying ultimately more work was needed.
“Abandoning calls for sanctions is a good thing in itself,” he said, explaining that the sanctions were not conducive to resolving the Iranian nuclear issue and led nowhere, TASS reported.
“However, it is precisely the restoration of the JCPOA that is important,” the Kremlin spokesman stressed, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as the Iran deal is formally known.
“Sanctions pressure did not help the implementation of the agreement and brought the situation to a dead end,” Peskov added.
The United States on Thursday told the United Nations Security Council it was rescinding a Trump administration assertion that all UN sanctions had been reimposed on Iran in September.
Acting US Ambassador Richard Mills informed the 15-member body in a letter seen by Reuters.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told European allies on Thursday that President Joe Biden’s administration was prepared to talk to Iran about both countries returning to a 2015 deal.
Source: Agencies
