IRNA - Former Russian presidential candidate Sergey Baburin says the US is only wasting its time by pressuring Iran as a means to take advantage of the country

“Iran is a powerful country that hasn’t succumbed to pressurs to pay ransom to the US and its allies,” Sergey Baburin, a Russian politician who had stood for president in last year’s presidential elections told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Saturday.

“Tehran has been able to defend its independent positions, relying on its own people as well as its internal power. Washington’s hope to take an advantage from Iran through sanctions is futile,” Baburin said.

Baburin, who is also president of the nationalist party Russia’s All-People’s Union, said non-dollar trade between his country and Iran can provide good opportunities for bilateral commerce.

The Russian official criticized the US support for terrorist groups as a “means to push forward its own objectives', stressing that the country's “calculations in the Middle East have proved false'.