Unilateral sanctions against Iran counterproductive - Lavrov

16 October 2008

Moscow-Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov here Wednesday considered unilateral sanctions imposed by certain countries against Iran as "counterproductive."

According to IRNA from Moscow, Lavrov made the comment in a meeting with the visiting head of the International Affairs Committee of US Congress Howard Berman, adding, "Iran's nuclear issue needs to be solved diplomatically."

The Russian top diplomat furthermore stressed during the meeting, "Russia favors solving this problem through diplomatic channels, including continuing the 5+1 negotiations with Iran, believing that continuation of unilaterally imposed sanctions against Iran is quite counterproductive."

Lavrov is among a handful of Russian top officials that have in recent months voiced Russia's opposition against unilateral policies and sanctions against Iran and stressed the need to solve the matter diplomatically.