Iran's presence in Syria is legitimate as it was requested by the Damascus government, says Russia's ambassador to Tehran, who believes that exerting pressure on the Islamic Republic will backfire.
"Just like the Russian military, the Iranians are there at the invitation of the legitimate Syrian government and are participating in operations to eradicate terrorists," Levan Dzhagaryan said in a recent interview with the Russian daily Kommersant, TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
Moscow is concerned about a possible standoff between Iran and Israel in war-torn Syria, saying that Russia is doing everything possible to help prevent it.
Counterproductive
The ambassador said pressure does not work on Iran. "This is a big state pursuing an independent foreign policy. It is only possible to work with the Iranians through persuasion. Pressure is counterproductive."
He reiterated that sanctions on Tehran will not undermine ties between the two countries.
"Our trade and economic relations are developing quite dynamically. We have a number of large-scale projects, including the second and third stages of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the construction of four power units of the Sirik Thermal Power Plant and electrification of a railway stretch between Garmsar and Ince Burun. Despite threats from the US, today I see no obstacles to implementing these projects," Dzhagaryan stated.
Key Partner
Russia is prepared to assist Iran in its efforts to counter the impact of the economic restrictions and help prevent a slowdown in its national economy, the senior diplomat said.
"We are ready to provide assistance to Iran in that matter. For us, Iran is a friendly country. We interact in a wide range of areas. Moreover, in some of them, for example, in ending the war in Syria and launching a full-fledged political settlement process, Iran is a key partner for us.”
Iranian Crude
Asked whether Russia will continue importing Iranian oil after November considering threats from Washington, the diplomat said, "We do not recognize unilateral American sanctions."
"From our point of view, they are illegal," i24NEWS quoted Dzhagaryan as saying in the interview.
Some US sanctions take effect after a 90-day wind-down period ending on August 6, and the rest, most notably on the petroleum sector, after a 180-day wind-down period ending on November 4, according to Reuters.
Package of Cooperation
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says there is a "big package of cooperation" with Russia.
He made the comments in a recent interview with Euronews, when asked about the possibility of an oil-for-goods deal with Moscow.
"This is a big package of cooperation that we have with Russia. But I do not believe that a part of that package is we sell oil to Russia and receive goods. It's a much bigger package and it includes a lot of other variables, including possibilities for energy cooperation, but also possibilities for Iran to receive payments," Zarif said, according to a transcript of his remarks published by Euronews.
