"I’m frankly surprised that it [the ban on S-300 deliveries to Iran] held this long, given that they were not prohibited by sanctions from selling these defensive weapons," Obama said at a news conference in the White House after talks with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
"When I say I’m not surprised, given some of the deterioration in the relationship between Russia and the United States, and the fact that their economy is under strain and this was a substantial sale," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing S-300 deliveries to Iran on April 13. The document came into force on the day it was signed.
Under the 2007 contract, Moscow was to deliver to Tehran five divisions of the missile systems of medium range worth over $800 million.
The Iranian side paid $166.8 million in advance. However, until mid-2010 the systems were not supplied to Iran.
In September 2010, then-President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on measures on implementing the UN Security Council’s resolution 1929 that in particular banned the S-300 supplies to Iran.
The contract was canceled and the advance payment was sent back to the Islamic Republic.
Why did Russia lift the ban?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday Russia’s voluntary embargo on deliveries of S-300 missile systems to Iran is no longer needed due to progress in the resolution of the situation around Iran’s nuclear program."Initially, the decision to suspend the implementation of the contract, which was already signed and came into force, was made in September 2010," he recalled. "It was done in the interests of support for consolidated efforts of the six international negotiators to stimulate a maximally constructive process of talks on settlement of the situation around Iran’s nuclear program."
The minister particularly stressed that "it was done absolutely voluntarily."............http://tass.ru/en/world/790256
17/4/15
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Obama says surprised Russia held off so long on arms deal with Iran...
ReplyDeleteUS President Barack Obama said on Friday he was surprised Russia had waited as long as it did to seal a deal to sell missile defense systems to Iran, given the tensions between Russia and the United States.
Obama said the sale was initially set to occur in 2009, but Russia put it on hold at the United States' request. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the sale was resumed because of progress in nuclear talks with Iran.......Reuters.........http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
17/4/15