Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergey Riabkov, says the West is reducing the chances of solving Iran’s nuclear disputes through negotiation by intensifying sanctions against the country.
Ria Novosti reports that Riabkov said in an interview on Thursday that it is “reckless and unwise” to increase sanctions against Iran, adding that the Western members of the G5+1 do not realize that in order to reach an agreement, one “offers sweets” or some other “attractive thing.”
The European Union has moved to boycott Iranian oil, and starting on July 1 of this year, all EU members are prohibited from importing any Iranian oil.
Iran’s Central Bank has also been put under sanctions by the United States and the EU member countries.
Iranian Parliament’s Energy Commission has announced that it is reviewing a motion to immediately cut off all oil exports to Europe. The legislation is to be examined in Parliament on Sunday.
Iranian MP Nasser Soudani announced that MPs are looking at drafting a new law to stop Iranian oil imports to European countries as soon as possible.
“A number of MPs and I are seeking to approve a plan by which all European countries that made Iran the target of their sanctions will not be able to buy even one drop of oil from Iran,” Soudani told the Fars News Agency.
A report on the Russia Today news network also indicates that Iran may take immediate action, imposing pre-emptive sanctions on European countries and turning off the oil taps, forcing those countries into an immediate energy shortage.
Russia Today maintains: “Countries like Italy and Greece refine oil from Iran at plants tailored to a particular blend of crude, and readjusting them to another sort of oil would be costly both in terms of time and money.”
China has also condemned the new EU sanctions on Iran, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry has announced that “to blindly pressure and impose sanctions on Iran are not constructive approaches.”
