Russia Ready To Contribute To Creation Of EU System For Bypassing US Sanctions On Iran

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published November 20, 2018 | 10:57 PM

Russia stands ready to contribute to the European Union's efforts to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will help EU members bypass the US sanctions on Iran, Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Sputnik on Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2018) Russia stands ready to contribute to the European Union's efforts to create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will help EU members bypass the US sanctions on Iran, Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"Creating the mechanism mentioned by you, which, as it is claimed, will be open not only to the EU countries but also other countries, is a challenging objective, but I am sure that it can be achieved. Russia is ready to contribute to these efforts. However, for objective and subjective reasons, this work is not progressing very fast," Chizhov said.

He also noted that the European Union still continued to consistently advocate the preservation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and trade and economic cooperation with Tehran despite Washington's pressure.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday that the date when the SPV would be created was still unknown, but work was progressing positively.

In May, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, and re-impose its sanctions against Iran that had been lifted under the agreement. The first round of restrictions came into force in August and the second on November 5.

Despite Washington's unilateral move, the other parties to the deal � China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union � have expressed their commitment to the JCPOA.

On September 24, the foreign ministers of the remaining signatories to the JCPOA agreed to create the SPV on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in order to enable European companies to continue legitimate transactions with Iran in accordance with EU law.