Russia, along with its ally Iran, agreed today, Tuesday, in rejecting Western attempts to maintain restrictions on Iran despite the collapse of the 2015 agreement aimed at limiting Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministers Ali Bagheri Kani and Reza Najafi.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated after the meeting that Moscow and Tehran share the belief that the failure to implement the agreement stems from the "wrong policy of 'maximum pressure'" pursued by the United States and those who think similarly. The meeting emphasized the "unacceptability of any attempts by the West to impose new schemes and methods to resolve issues related to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran nuclear agreement), which would harm the legitimate and mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Iran in various fields." It noted that there is currently "no reasonable alternative" to implementing the nuclear agreement as endorsed by the UN Security Council.
