Russia: Trump’s speech ran counter to norms of civilized world

Russia has condemned US President Donald Trump’s recent anti-Iran speech, saying there is no room for aggressive rhetoric in international diplomacy and in the civilized world.

In a statement issued on Friday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Trump’s speech “once again underlines the inadmissibility of using aggressive and threatening rhetoric in international relations” and that such language was “doomed to fail.”

“It is a hangover from the past, which does not correspond to modern norms of civilized dealings between countries,” the Russian statement read.

Earlier on Friday, the US president had given a speech filled with anti-Iran insults. He said he would not certify Iran’s compliance with the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement under a domestic American law. The US president also threatened to “terminate” the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), if he could not “reach a solution working with Congress and our allies” to change it.

Iran has made it clear that the JCPOA will in no way be renegotiated.

Elsewhere in its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it “viewed with regret” Trump’s decision on the JCPOA, saying, “We expect that this step will not have a direct effect on the progress of implementation of the agreements, although, clearly, it does not correspond to the spirit and letter.”

It further reiterated that the Islamic Republic was strictly abiding by the terms of the deal.

“In particular, there can be no talk of a renewal of sanctions via the UN Security Council,” it added.

“Russia remains committed to the JCPOA, is interested in preserving it, and will continue to fulfill its obligations under it. We call on all other participants to do the same,” it said.

Iran deal no ‘bargaining chip’

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Iran’s nuclear deal “deserves an entirely different attitude” and “should not be treated as a bargaining chip.”

“For many [in the US] and particularly in Congress, criticism of the JCPOA has become an instrument of handling the problems that are far from the [document’s] own purpose,” he pointed out.

Ryabkov went on to say that the US administration actually seeks to link the nuclear agreement to issues that are not related to it or to Iran’s nuclear program.

Moscow will do its best to prevent the deal from collapsing and will particularly continue its dialog with Washington on the issue, he said.

Lavrov, Peskov defend JCPOA

Just before Trump’s speech, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had called his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to tell him that Russia remained fully committed to the Iran nuclear deal.

Additionally, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said that spiking the deal “would undoubtedly hurt the atmosphere of predictability, security, stability and non-proliferation in the entire world.”

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