The White House on Monday voiced its opposition to Russia’s decision to lift its ban on exporting S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran before a final deal with Iran to scale back its nuclear program is reached and said an oil-for-goods exchange between Moscow and Tehran could raise “sanctions concerns.”
“The U.S. has previously made known our objections and I understand that Secretary Kerry has a chance to speak to his Russian counterpart to make our concerns known,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Monday.
While he offered no concrete U.S. response to the move, Earnest said the “U.S. takes seriously the security of our allies in the region” and said the move to start an oil-for-goods swap, raises “serious concerns” and could “potentially raise sanctions concerns.”
But Earnest also stressed the unity of America’s international negotiating partners in talks with Iran and stressed how closely U.S. officials have worked with Russia and China to try to roll back aspects of Tehran’s nuclear program.
“We value the unity,” he said. “We previously saw an official from Russia state that the U.S. document outlining the parameters with Iran is consistent and did reflect the negotiations at the table, and that underscores the unity of the agreement.”
President Vladimir Putin made it clear in a post on the Kremlin’s website Monday that he had formally removed the Russian ban, which has existed since 2010. Russia, along with the United States, is one of six international powers trying to negotiate a deal with Tehran to wind back its nuclear program and the talks are facing a U.S.-imposed deadline of June 30 to settle remaining disagreements. Other participants in the talks include the other United Nations Security Council nations — China, Britain and France — plus Germany.
Russia has separately started providing grain, equipment and construction materials to Iran in exchange for crude oil, positioning itself as an early beneficiary of a final deal between Tehran and the U.S. and international sanctions relief that would accompany it.
Russia’s deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov held a briefing with reporters Monday in which he confirmed the exchange of Iranian crude oil supplies in return for “certain products” and argued that the exchange did not violate the current sanctions regime against Tehran.
The White House also reiterated its insistence on a phased end to sanctions on Tehran in the face of tough talk last week by Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei.
Khamenei said he would not accept a deal that does not include immediate sanctions relief.
“We’ve been very clear about what our position is – this is a position that Iranian negotiators are very well aware of,” Earnest said. “It doesn’t just reflect the position of the U.S. It reflects the position of the international community.”
