Russia does not see legal grounds for possible attempts by the United States to return international sanctions against Iran to the extent that existed before the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program (JCPOA), Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Thursday.
"The US withdrew from the JCPOA. This means that the United States has no right to launch or start implementing the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 2231… We do not see any legal or technical grounds for such a decision. And of course, we will oppose any actions of the United States on this track, " he said during an online discussion organized by the Center for the national interest in Washington.
The Ambassador responded to reports of" collusion " between Russia and the Taliban
Claims by the American media about Russia's alleged readiness to pay militants in Afghanistan monetary rewards for the murder of American soldiers are outright lies, Antonov said.
"I would like to completely reject all the charges against Russia. We are not interested in the victory of terrorism in Afghanistan," the head of the Russian diplomatic mission said.
"We are in close contact with our American colleagues, and we, of course, discussed all issues related to this provocative publication, which was allowed by some media outlets in the United States," he added.
The Ambassador stressed that Russia understood the situation in Afghanistan, where it had already lost "many thousands of lives of Russian soldiers and officers." Antonov "wished success to the US negotiators" dealing with the settlement in Afghanistan.
"Shame on those who tried to differentiate the positions of the Russian Federation and the US on this issue," the Ambassador concluded.
Need for dialogue
Antonov added that the United States and Russia were not enemies and couldn't afford not to communicate, despite all the accumulated contradictions in relations.
"It is very difficult to talk about Russian-American relations. There are too many contradictions<...>, " he said. "There are opposite views on who should take the first step towards," Antonov said.
"I must admit that so far this process is like walking in a circle without any clear prospect of finding common positions," the Russian diplomat said.
"In many cases, I have had to convince the American public that Russia and the United States are not enemies, that we cannot afford the luxury of not talking to each other, despite all the existing differences. For objective reasons, the well-being of the entire world depends on the quality of Russian-American relations," Antonov is convinced.
The summit of the "Five"
Russia's proposed summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Great Britain, China, Russia, USA, France) will play an important role in improving the situation in the world, Antonov said.
"We believe that such a summit will play an important role in finding ways to improve the international situation and prevent it from sliding into a dangerous scenario with unpredictable consequences," the head of the Russian diplomatic mission said.
He also stressed the special role of Russia and the United States as two nuclear powers in the world.
Russia proposes to discuss collective principles in world affairs, arms control and other security issues, as well as overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic for the world economy at the UN five - Russia, China, France, the United States and the United Kingdom. This is stated in an article by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the history of World war II. The article was published in the National Interest magazine in English, and then published on the Kremlin's website and in Rossiyskaya Gazeta in Russian.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Valery Sharifulin / TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti, TASS