According to Sputnik, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the International Organization in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that the situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear file has reached a complete deadlock and that the European troika (Britain, Germany, France), along with the United States, are responsible for the current situation.
Ulyanov warned that the impact of the newly passed anti-Iranian resolution will soon become clear. He noted that the Iranian government had already responded by warning the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the Cairo agreement was effectively coming to an end.
He added that although Western countries claim that diplomacy is still alive, “Thanks to their efforts, diplomacy is effectively dead.”
In a related statement, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova stressed that peaceful nuclear cooperation with Iran must be carried out under the same conditions that apply to all non-nuclear states party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Zakharova said the recent resolutions advanced by Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States on the IAEA Board of Governors were “provocative steps” by Western powers and dealt a serious blow to global confidence in the IAEA safeguards system and the broader non-proliferation regime. He added that it is “ridiculous” for countries that have violated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and ignored UN Security Council Resolution 2231 for years to now take an anti-Iranian stance in the name of non-proliferation.
MNA/6663828