Russia expressed support for a swift end to the UN arms embargo against Iran on Thursday July 9 as the nuclear talks continued in Vienna toward the latest deadline of July 10.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in the Russian city of Ufa: “We are calling for lifting the embargo as soon as possible and we will support the choices that Iran’s negotiators make.”
The Russian foreign minister said Iran has a vital role in the fight against ISIS and lifting the arms embargo will support this role.
Lavrov revealed this week that the arms embargo on Iran was one of the chief topics of discussion in the nuclear negotiations in Vienna.
Iran has called for an end to the embargo. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted as saying this week that if the world powers are interested in reaching an agreement, they must change their view on sanctions.
Washington says, however, that it wants to maintain Iran’s restrictions on “conventional arms and ballistic missiles”.