The Russian response to Pompeo’s antics was equal parts lament, diplomacy and ridicule. “It’s very painful to see how a great country humiliates itself like this, opposes in its obstinate delirium other members of UN Security Council,” Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy, said in a Twitter posting. “We all clearly said in August that U.S. claims to trigger #snapback are illegitimate. Is Washington deaf?”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement earlier today that Russia will ensure that the JCPOA remains in place. “The efforts on preserving and ensuring sustainable implementation of the JCPOA will continue,” the ministry emphasized, reported TASS. “The UN Security Council Resolution 2231 remains unchanged and the commitments arising from it must be fulfilled in the initially agreed mode and volume on the basis of the reciprocity principle by all states,” it said.
But it goes on. “The U.S. continues to mislead the international community by speculating that the UN Security Council conducted some sort of procedures to restore the effect of UNSC resolutions on Iran sanctions, which were cancelled after the signing of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)", the official statement from Russia read, reported Sputnik. “The facts are that the UN Security Council did not take any action that would lead to the restoration of old sanctions against Iran. All that Washington does is nothing more than a theatrical performance staged in order to subordinate the Security Council to its policy of ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran and turn this authoritative body into its handy tool,” the statement continued.
