Unilateral sanctions hinder Iran talks: Top Russian official

Gennady Gatilov said on Monday that Russia remained “convinced that unilateral sanctions undermine the chances of the resumption of the negotiating process with Tehran, and also significantly hurt the unity of the six” world powers, comprising the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China.

    The Russian diplomat renewed his country’s opposition to the US-led embargoes against the Islamic republic, saying there are no grounds for the continuation of sanctions against Tehran.


He further said that the foreign ministers of the P5+1 group plan to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session on September 24.

Gatilov noted that the ministerial meeting “has been planned, but no ultimate decision has been made so far."

At the beginning of 2012, the US and the EU approved new sanctions against Iran's oil and financial sectors. The embargoes aim to prevent other countries from purchasing the Iranian oil or transacting with the Central Bank of Iran.

Washington and the EU have declared that the bans are meant to force Iran to abandon its nuclear energy program, which they claim to include a military component.

Iran has vehemently refuted the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to use the nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.