As Jerusalem meeting nears, Russia seeks ways to ease US-Iran tensions
Russia is urging the United States to cease provocations of Iran and also is seeking to persuade Tehran to stay in the nuclear deal.
MOSCOW — As a meeting between the chiefs of the national security councils of Israel, Russia and the United States approaches, Moscow has been calling on Washington and Tehran to ease off tensions. On June 24, Meir Ben-Shabbat, Nikolai Patrushev and John Bolton will convene in Jerusalem to discuss Syria and the situation involving Iran.
On June 18, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who is in charge of the US file, made a lengthy statement criticizing the United States for its policy vis-a-vis Iran.
“We’ve noticed some US officials called some of Iran’s moves to suspend its obligations under the JCPOA as challenging international law and doing 'nuclear blackmail,'” the statement opens. The JCPOA is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement with Iran on nuclear issues.
“It’s obvious that our American colleagues dealt a decisive blow to one of the most significant diplomatic achievements when they announced … withdrawal from the JCPOA. … US threats to sanction those who implement UNSC [UN Security Council] decisions are clearly beyond any common sense. We strongly recommend our American colleagues weigh which country's actions are best described as 'blackmail,'” the statement continued.
