MNA � Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan said that trading between Iran and Russia with national currencies is a key step to counter the unilateral sanctions of the United States.

He made the remarks in an interview with an IRIB program which aired Saturday night.

Speaking in Persian, the envoy highlighted that currently 25% of trades between the two countries are being conducted by national currencies and this trend will continue.

Asked about the development of Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) by Europe, Dzhagaryan said, �it�s better to ask this question from European ambassadors.� He went on to say that European countries just talk about establishing such a mechanism but they have not yet implemented anything.

Elsewhere, he noted that Iran�s missile program has nothing to do with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), adding that US claims about Iran�s presence in the region are baseless since Tehran has repeatedly announced that it is ready to negotiate regarding regional issues.