Putin proposes UNSC video summit with participation of Iran, Germany

Kremlin on Friday announced the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold an online meeting with five permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as Germany and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran PressEurope: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday proposed a video summit with the United States, Britain, France, China, Germany and Iran in a bid to avoid “confrontation and escalation” at the United Nations, where Washington is trying to extend an arms embargo on Tehran.

“The issue is urgent,” Putin said in a statement, adding that the alternative was “only further escalation of tensions, increasing risk of conflict - such a scenario must be avoided," Putin stated.

The Kremlin further stressed that Moscow is fully committed to the UN Security Council.

"The purpose of this meeting is to prevent unnecessary confrontations in the Security Council and to collectively support UN Security Council Resolution 2231," Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations based in Vienna, wrote on Twitter.

The United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) two years ago, without regard to Security Council Resolution 2231.

In a new legal interpretation, the US claims that according to the provisions of this resolution, it is still one of the participants in the JCPOA and in this context, US has the right to use the mechanisms mentioned in this agreement, including the trigger mechanism for the return of sanctions against Iran.

The claim made by the US received a clear response from Russia and China.

China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations recently stated that the United States had violated its obligations under Security Council Resolution 2231 by withdrawing from the JCPOA.

The United States has no right to extend arms sanctions against Iran, let alone to invoke the snapback mechanism.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has also stressed that the United States can not use UN Security Council Resolution 2231 to extend arms embargo on Iran.

US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the international agreement on Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in violation of Washington's commitments under the JCPOA, and announced the return of nuclear sanctions

Trump's move has drawn widespread domestic and international condemnation.

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