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Moscow should deliver S-300 defense system to Iran: Russian official
Chairman of the Russian Defense Ministry's Public Council Igor Korotchenko
PRESS TV
Sat Jul 7, 2012 9:0AM GMT
Chairman of the Russian Defense Ministry's Public Council Igor
Korotchenko has called on Moscow to fulfill its contractual
obligations to Tehran and deliver the S-300 air defense systems to
Iran.
In a Thursday interview with Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news
agency, Korotchenko urged Russia to sell the S-300 defense system to
Iran, arguing that the move does not run counter to any UN mandates.
The Russian defense official pointed to Moscow's dispute with the NATO
member states over the military alliance's 2010 plan to establish a
missile system in eastern Europe, the Syrian crisis and Uzbekistan's
withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of
ex-Soviet nations on June 28 and underscored the necessity of Moscow's
support for friend nations against the backdrop of the ensuing
geopolitical developments.
CSTO, headquartered in Moscow, consists of Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The
organization was created in 2002 and has been developing rapid
reaction forces along with constructing drones.
Korotchenko went on to say that Iran and Russia share a lot of common
positions on international developments and argued that the delivery
of the S-300 defense systems to Iran will be a `logical step' for
maintaining Moscow's geopolitical interests in the region.
Earlier in July, Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Tehran's
2011 complaint against Russia at the International Court of Justice
over Moscow's refusal to ship the S-300 air defense systems to the
Islamic Republic is under examination at the relevant international
legal bodies.
Under a contract signed in 2007, Russia was required to provide Iran
with at least five S-300 air-defense systems.
However, Moscow's continuous delays in delivering the defense system
drew criticism from the Islamic Republic on several occasions.
Russia has been refusing to deliver the system to Iran under the
pretext that the selling of the system is banned by the fourth round
of UN Security Council resolutions against Iran.
Korotchenko lashed out at the West for leveling allegations against
Iran's nuclear energy program as a pretext to put Tehran under
pressure and argued that there has been no evidence of military
diversion in the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of
pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran has strongly rejected the US-led allegations, arguing that as a
signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and
acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Chairman of the Russian Defense Ministry's Public Council Igor Korotchenko
PRESS TV
Sat Jul 7, 2012 9:0AM GMT
Chairman of the Russian Defense Ministry's Public Council Igor
Korotchenko has called on Moscow to fulfill its contractual
obligations to Tehran and deliver the S-300 air defense systems to
Iran.
In a Thursday interview with Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news
agency, Korotchenko urged Russia to sell the S-300 defense system to
Iran, arguing that the move does not run counter to any UN mandates.
The Russian defense official pointed to Moscow's dispute with the NATO
member states over the military alliance's 2010 plan to establish a
missile system in eastern Europe, the Syrian crisis and Uzbekistan's
withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of
ex-Soviet nations on June 28 and underscored the necessity of Moscow's
support for friend nations against the backdrop of the ensuing
geopolitical developments.
CSTO, headquartered in Moscow, consists of Armenia, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The
organization was created in 2002 and has been developing rapid
reaction forces along with constructing drones.
Korotchenko went on to say that Iran and Russia share a lot of common
positions on international developments and argued that the delivery
of the S-300 defense systems to Iran will be a `logical step' for
maintaining Moscow's geopolitical interests in the region.
Earlier in July, Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Tehran's
2011 complaint against Russia at the International Court of Justice
over Moscow's refusal to ship the S-300 air defense systems to the
Islamic Republic is under examination at the relevant international
legal bodies.
Under a contract signed in 2007, Russia was required to provide Iran
with at least five S-300 air-defense systems.
However, Moscow's continuous delays in delivering the defense system
drew criticism from the Islamic Republic on several occasions.
Russia has been refusing to deliver the system to Iran under the
pretext that the selling of the system is banned by the fourth round
of UN Security Council resolutions against Iran.
Korotchenko lashed out at the West for leveling allegations against
Iran's nuclear energy program as a pretext to put Tehran under
pressure and argued that there has been no evidence of military
diversion in the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of
pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran has strongly rejected the US-led allegations, arguing that as a
signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and
acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.