Alwaght- Russia has said recent ballistic missile tests by Iran did not violate UN resolutions and therefore sanctions should not be imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Russia’s envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin also announced that the tests were not in violation to the UN resolutions and that his country was opposed to imposing new sanctions.
Reacting to Churkin’s remarks, the US ambassador to the UN promised to continue for action against Iran’s ballistic tests.
“We're not going to give up at the Security Council,” Samatha Power said.
In response to a question on whether new sanctions should be imposed on Iran over its recent missile tests, Russia’s envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said Monday, "The clear and short answer is no."
He added that Iran did not breach the Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed a nuclear agreement between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of countries on July 14, 2015.
Resolution 2231 (2015) provides for the termination of the provisions of previous Security Council resolutions on the Iranian nuclear program and establishes specific restrictions that apply to all states without exception.
The resolution calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully test-fired two more ballistic missiles on March 9 as part of military drills to assess the IRGC's capabilities. The missiles dubbed Qadr-H and Qadr-F were fired during large-scale military exercises code-named Eqtedar-e-Velayat.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests do not violate its nuclear deal with the world powers.
Mogherini made the announcement following an EU foreign ministerial meeting held in Brussels on Monday, a day after France said Iran may face sanctions over the tests.
She claimed that the tests could increase tensions in the region despite not being a violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed that Iran's missiles are a means of defense.
"We spent a fraction of any other country in the region on defense, and missiles are a means of defense that we require," he said.
