Tehran says Russia not creating obstacles for negotiations on Iran nuke deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian

MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/: Russia is not creating any obstacles for the Iranian nuclear deal negotiations, and they have nothing to do with the events in Ukraine, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Tuesday at a press conference following talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"Russia is not creating any obstacles towards reaching agreements, there is no connection between the developments in Ukraine that we talked about and the Vienna talks," he stressed.

The Iranian top diplomat stressed that Russia has been playing an important and constructive role from the very start of these talks. "Russia will be by Iran's side until the end of the negotiations and will support Iran to reach this good, soild and lasting agreement," he added.

Hope remains for speedy agreement

The Iranian foreign minister also anticipates that a deal will be reached soon. "We hope that the Americans will give up their unbridled demands right as we get close to reaching [the deal], and we will be able to announce a good deal in the near future, so to speak, with the support of all parties that are involved in the Vienna talks," he said.

According to the Iranian minister, a delay in the talks could create a good ground for resolving the remaining issues.

In addition, he noted Iran's balanced foreign policy. "Iran today plays an important role in its balanced foreign policy and does not want to become a satellite of someone else and does not want to create satellites for itself," he added.

According to the Iranian top diplomat, no one can be an obstacle to the development of relations between Tehran and Moscow. "This is precisely the realization of the interests of the people of Iran, it shows us the way to move forward and cannot have a negative impact on the course of the Vienna talks," Amir-Abdollahian added, "A realistic view by the US in these days and final weeks before an agreement is reached is very important."

On March 11, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the Vienna talks had taken a break due to external factors. He said the final text is almost ready, so he will liaise with all parties to the JCPOA and the US to finalize the agreement.