Russia to continue efforts to have UN Security Council sanctions lifted off Iran - Russian diplomat

UNITED NATIONS, June 24. /TASS/. Russian will continue its efforts to reach a final settlement of the Iranian nuclear problem and have all the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions lifted off Iran, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative at the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov said on Tuesday. "On our part, we will continue our efforts to reach a final and comprehensive solution to all problems linked with the Iranian nuclear programme and ensure that all sanctions imposed by relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council are lifted off Iran," he said at a Security Council meeting. He said that the settlement of all problems around the Iranian nuclear programme and the implementation of agreements due to be reached by June 30 would entail a "profound revision of the current sanction regime." "Concrete parameters are currently being discussed in the Iran-P5+1 format in Vienna," the Russian diplomat noted. He said the sides were continuing efforts to find "solutions to the outstanding issues." "It is vitally important for all sides to ensure progress towards a final agreement. A key to the successful completion of the talks on a final agreement on a comprehensive settlement around the Iranian nuclear programme is a strict adherence to basic agreements reached at a meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran and the six powers in early April in Lausanne," Safronkov stressed. In July 2006, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1696 binding Iran to stop uranium enrichment. After Teheran refused to do that, sanctions were imposed on Iran, which later on were toughened. In 2010, the sanctions were expanded to Iran’s activities to develop ballistic missiles. The United Nations Security Council’s sanctions include a ban on weapons, missile and nuclear technologies deals and sanctions targeting certain Iranian individuals and organizations. Apart from that, the United States and a number of other countries have imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran. Iran has repeatedly demanded these sanctions be lifted. A comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme due to be reached by the end of the current month is expected to guarantee peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme and will make it possible to abandon the sanctions. The document is to set new temporary restrictions and a mechanism for re-imposing the sanctions in case Teheran fails to fulfil its liabilities. The agreement is supposed to be endorsed by a U.N. Security Council resolution that is to call for the implementation of all agreements and cancel the Council’s previous resolutions. Read more