Russia’s Criticism Not to be Taken Seriously

I believe that this position by Russia is in support of Iran while also taking into consideration its own interests as well. If the US passes further sanctions against Iran, this might influence Iran-Russia relations. Consider this a kind of diplomatic panel exchange which takes place from a different perspective. Some confusion might occur in this process which worries Russia.

Moreover, the extent of these sanctions may include Russian officials as well. Therefore, Russia tries to prevent the recurrence of this method in the international scene which could threaten its own interests as well.

IRD: Some say that these positions are not practical; therefore Russia-US relations will not be affected by it. Do you think that these unilateral sanctions can actually affect Russia-US relations or will it remain only in words?

As I said if a process becomes frequent it could be used in other cases as well. I think that US-Russia relations are more expansive to be influenced by such marginal issues. Their relation is vast and the amount of economic, technical, military, and political transactions is at a level that cannot be affected by such issues.   

Naturally, this country sees its interest in defending the maximums. From this perspective, Russia does not seem concerned about Iran, since it has voted for sanctions against Iran for four times. Therefore, the position taken by Russia in this case is similar to what we witnessed in Libya. Russia voted for the case of Libya but then opposed it. Therefore, this case also seems like a political bluff.

The situation in Syria is similar to this case as well. The US is working on a draft in the UN Security Council to apply the same policy in Syria that it carried out in Libya. Russia has once again announced that it will veto this resolution. But it has shown that it has never been able to veto a resolution proposed by the US, even during the Soviet era.

IRD: Iran has gone through unilateral sanctions by the US prior to this, but Russia never took such a position. Do you think that the position taken by Russia in this case is because these sanctions target Iran’s air industry which cooperates with Russia?

Russia has been using American airplanes in its foreign flights since a long time ago and recently started using them in its domestic flights as well.

Moreover, Russia cannot sell military airplanes to Iran based on the UN Security Council resolution. Therefore, this does not seem to cause any problems or concerns for Russia. If the EU also joins the US and applies these sanctions, the situation will become even worse. 

IRD: The Russian Foreign Ministry has announced that the unilateral sanctions against Iran will damage the credibility of the Security Council. How do you assess this statement?

I don’t think that this statement is correct. Iran abandoned the sale of oil to the South African Apartheid regime and Syria, after the revolution. This is a decision that countries make in their relations with other countries.

When sanctions reach the Security Council and become internationally mandatory, then they can turn out to be dangerous. The transaction between Iran and the US has almost reached zero. Therefore these sanctions cannot create serious problems for Iran.

Therefore I think that Russia’s criticism of the Security Council is irrelevant. Russia might have wanted to propitiate Iran, or it could have wanted to create a reputation of being supportive of nations in the Security Council. However, we witnessed that Russia was not able to use its power in the UN or the Security Council, and it has been under the influence of the international powers present in the Security Council. Russia obeyed these powers and eventually abstained.