[caption id="attachment_92037" align="alignright" width="134"] Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan[/caption]
The lifting of anti-Iran sanctions can be mutually benefitial for trade relations between Moscow and Tehran, Russian Ambassador to Iran noted Thursday.


MOSCOW, January 22 (Sputnik) – The lifting of unilateral sanctions against Iran by the European Union and the United States should lead to a growth in trade between Moscow and Tehran, Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan said Thursday.

“If these limitations [against Iran] are lifted, then we expect a return to levels equal to or surpassing the previous figures,” Dzhagaryan told RIA Novosti in an interview.

“The unilateral sanctions by the EU and the United States against the financial and oil and gas sectors of Iran’s economy has had an extremely negative effect on the volume of trade between Russia and Iran because of worsening conditions in mutual accounting,” the ambassador said.

Dzhagaryan added that a key potential in the mutual relations between the two countries lies in regional cooperation.The diplomat noted that Moscow never stopped cooperating with Tehran in initiatives relating to energy, industry, transport, agriculture and advanced technologies. Dzhagaryan added that for Russia cooperation with Iran will remain priority in the future.

Tehran has been subject to sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union, as well as several countries over allegations that Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons. Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied these claims, stating that its nuclear activities are peaceful in nature.

The European Union, for instance, imposed an embargo on Iranian oil imports. The United States banned foreign companies from investing more than $20 million into the development of petroleum resources in Iran. Companies violating the ban will also be subject to US sanctions. Iranian organizations and banks linked to the nuclear or arms industries were also hit by Western restrictions.

Due to international sanctions, Russia severely cut back exports of military goods and services to Tehran. According to the Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT), over the past several years, Russia lost out on $13 billion in military sales to Iran.

By Sputnik News

 

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