Friends Again? Lavrov and German FM Speak Out Together Against Trump’s Warpath on Iran

Margarita Uzkikh, Russia Today: "After the US terminated the nuclear deal with Iran Teheran announced that the deal would remain intact if other participants cooperate to achieve its goals. You've already mentioned that. Have the parties started going through the details? What steps could be taken to protect Iran from the American sanctions and prevent it from terminating the deal? The second question to Mr. Lavrov: What's Russia's opinion on the escalation between Iran and Israel? Could it have been triggered by the fact that Trump terminated the deal? And another question to Mr. Maas: Today, Merkel, Poroshenko, and Macron are meeting in Germany. Do you think it might have great impact on Ukraine?"

 

Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia: "We've already mentioned that the decision of the US administration is our major concern. They decided to quit the joint action plan violating the resolution 22/31 of the Security Council which approved of this plan and made it a part of the International Law. We assessed Iran's credible response to this decision because we have to assess all the consequences of the step Washington decided to take and hurrying would prove ineffective Together with Germany, France, Great Britain, China, and Iran we will assess the situation. We're already doing that and will soon compare our verdicts. But I'd like to point out several important aspects. You mentioned the steps that would protect Iran from the consequences of the American sanctions. It's a simplistic approach because we’re not only talking about protecting Iran from the renewed sanctions. There's nothing we can do about the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US.

However, we're not talking about the decision of the Security Council to lift its sanctions. This decision is not subject to review. The unilateral US sanctions are different. If Washington once again tries to integrate its sanctions as an extraterritorial matter it would jeopardize the stability of the region as well as its relations with Europe and Russia. And we will respond accordingly, employing the means of the World Trade Organization. Once again, it's not just about lifting the sanctions. The deal, the so-called joint action plan, was designed to stabilize the region and, what's more important, contribute to the nuclear weapon non-proliferation program. The total damage inflicted by this decision is yet to be assessed but it's colossal.

Regarding the Israeli-Iranian escalation, we consider it to be a worrisome trend. We believe that dialogue is the key to resolving all issues. We've addressed the issue during our meetings with the leaders of the two countries including Putin's meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. We stressed the necessity to avoid any actions that would be mutually triggering. Both Iran and Israel assured us that it's not their intention but incidents happen, as you might know. And we're worried because those incidents happen within the framework of all parties stressing their commitment to Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity. The incident that happened last night at the Syrian Golan Heights is currently being thoroughly studied by our military. They have witnessed the incident and, I'm sure, will soon announce their verdict".