Reuters5 Mar 2022 20:41
The announcement by Russia, which could torpedo months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna, came shortly after Tehran said it had agreed a roadmap with the United Nations nuclear watchdog to resolve outstanding issues that could help secure the nuclear pact.
“Russians had put this demand on the table (at the Vienna talks) since two days ago. There is an understanding that by changing its position in Vienna talks Russia wants to secure its interests in other places. This move is not constructive for Vienna nuclear talks,” said the Iranian official in Tehran, speaking to Reuters.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine had become a stumbling block for the Iran nuclear deal, warning Russian national interests would have to be taken into account.
Lavrov said Russia wanted a written guarantee from the United States that Russia’s trade, investment and military-technical cooperation with Iran would not be hindered in any way by the sanctions.
When asked whether Russia’s demand would harm 11 months of talks between Tehran and world powers, including Russia, Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group, Ali Vaez, said: “Not yet. But it’s impossible to segregate the two crises for much longer.”
Two diplomats, one of them not directly involved in the talks, said China also has demanded written guarantees that its companies doing business in Iran wouldn’t be affected by U.S. sanctions.
Such demands may complicate efforts to seal a nuclear deal at a time when an agreement looked likely. All parties involved in the Vienna talks had said on Friday they were close to reaching an agreement.
The 2015 agreement between Tehran and major powers eased sanctions on Tehran in return for limiting Iran’s enrichment of uranium, making it harder for Tehran to develop material for nuclear weapons. The accord fell apart after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018.I
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