Alwaght - Russia may resume a deal to
deliver S-300 surface-to-air defense systems to Iran if only the UN decides to
lift its ban on arms sales to Tehran, a leading Russian defense expert said on
Friday.
Negotiators from Iran, the US and other world powers agreed on
Thursday to a framework for a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran agreed in principle to accept significant restrictions on its
nuclear facilities, in return, economic sanctions unilaterally imposed on the
Islamic Republic by the US, EU and the UN Security Council will be lifted.
Following the agreement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey
Ryabkov said that a UN arms embargo against Iran should also go.
"Lifting sanctions on Iran, including the arms embargo, would
be an absolutely logical thing to do,” said Igor Korotchenko, who heads the
Global Arms Trade Analysis Center think tank in Moscow, Sputnik reported.
“Of key importance to us is the delivery of the upgraded S-300
missiles to Iran… A contract to this effect could be resumed on terms
acceptable to both Moscow and Tehran,” he added.
In January, Tehran and Moscow signed an agreement to broaden their
defensive cooperation and also resolve the problem with the delivery of
Russia's S300 missile defense systems to Iran.
The agreement was signed by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier
General Hussein Dehqan and his visiting Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu
in a meeting in Tehran.
The Iranian and Russian defense ministers agreed to resolve the
existing problems which have prevented the delivery of Russia's advanced air
defense systems to Iran in recent years.
The two sides also agreed to broaden their defense cooperation and
joint campaign against terrorism and extremism.
In 2007, Iran signed a contract worth $800mln to buy five Russian
S300 missile defense systems.
But the deal was scrapped in 2010 by the then-Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev, who was unilaterally expanding on sanctions against Iran
imposed by the UN Security Council.
