Mar 16, 2022: According to a report by AFP, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Moscow had received guarantees from Washington on its ability to trade with Tehran as part of ongoing talks to salvage the Iran nuclear deal.

Major world powers are now close to renewing the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on regulating Iran’s nuclear programme after 10 months of talks in Vienna.

Even after coming close to cinching a deal, negotiations stalled earlier this month after Moscow demanded a guarantee that its trade with Iran would not be affected by Western sanctions imposed following its military action in Ukraine.

Now however, Lavrov said his assurances from Washington would protect Russia’s intervention in Iran’s only Bushehr nuclear power plant. The minister said Moscow and Tehran share the position that Western sanctions are aimed at violating international law and accused Washington and its allies of imposing sanctions “primarily against civilians.”

Addressing a press conference in Moscow with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Lavrov said, “We received written guarantees. They are included in the text of the agreement itself on the resumption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear programme,”

Abdollahian said at the press conference, “Russia will not be an obstacle to reaching an agreement,”

“There will be no relation between Ukraine’s developments… and Vienna negotiations,” he said, referring to the ongoing conflict and talks on renewing the 2015 agreement.

Russia’s “very positive and constructive role” in the talks was praised by him. He said Moscow would “stay beside the Islamic Republic of Iran until the end of the negotiations and reaching a good, strong and lasting agreement”.

The 2015 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

The agreement aimed to ensure Iran would not be able to develop a nuclear weapon, which it has always denied seeking.

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