Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says US and UN sanctions against Iran and Syria serve no purpose and are causing harm to Russian business. His comments came after meeting with Hillary Clinton at the APEC summit in Vladivostok.
“Unilateral US sanctions against Syria and Iran are increasingly becoming extra-territorial in nature and are touching upon the interests of Russian business," Lavrov said on Saturday.
This comes after reports this week that a St. Petersburg-based company stopped verifying safety and environmental standards for one of Iran's biggest shipping groups as a direct result of the international sanctions.
Russia has repeatedly opposed sanctions against Tehran and Damascus, claiming that such actions do nothing to solve problems. Russia has vetoed three rounds of UN sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and called the latest round of sanctions against Tehran on August 13 nothing more than “overt blackmail”.
“Solving problems means involvement, not isolation,” Lavrov explained. "In Syria we are not supporting any sanctions because sanctions will not bring about anything.”
Russia’s and America’s final aims in both Syria and Iran coincided but the methods differ, believes the minister. Both Moscow and Washington would like to see a free and democratic Syria with a government elected by the Syrian people and are against proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran.
As for the methods for achieving the goals, the American approach of threats and sanctions does not appeal to the Russian diplomat.
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