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| S-300 (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
Moscow is making a strong effort to improve ties with Tehran.
A decree signed by Vladimir Putin has lifted a self-imposed Russian ban on the sale of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran, AFP reports. The lifting of the Russian weapons embargo comes days after the P5+1, the European Union, and Iran agreed on a landmark outline deal over Tehran’s nuclear program on April 2, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
As a consequence of the UN Security Council resolution of June 2010 imposing sanctions — which included a ban on the sale of hi-tech weapons — Russia cancelled the delivery of the missiles and stopped all military-technical cooperation. In return, Iran demanded $4 billion in compensation.
The Lausanne agreement (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) established a framework for a comprehensive nuclear deal to be reached by the end of June. Should a final agreement be signed, economic sanctions currently imposed could be gradually lifted, according to U.S officials.
“We are convinced that at this stage the necessity for a separate and voluntary embargo by Russia has disappeared,” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a statement today. He noted that Russia voluntarily suspended the missile sale in 2010, although it was not covered by the sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council on Iran.
Read the full story at The Diplomat