Russia to seek removal of arms embargo against Iran in nuclear talks

Moscow will urge the lifting of an arms embargo against Iran during Friday’s talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, the Russian deputy foreign minister says.

Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Thursday that one of the priorities in Iran’s nuclear talks is to ensure that all participants in the negotiations "recognize the foremost need to cancel the existing weapons embargo against Iran," Russia’s news agency Tass reported.

He also stressed the UN Security Council’s exclusive role in bringing back sanctions against Tehran if the Islamic Republic fails to fulfill its commitments.

The Russian diplomat’s remarks come as representatives from Iran and the P5+1 group of countries are to resume intensive talks over Tehran’s nuclear program in the Austrian city of Vienna on Friday.

The two sides kicked off the latest round of negotiations aimed at drafting a final nuclear accord on Wednesday with a bilateral meeting between Iran and the European Union.

Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, who leads the Iranian negotiating delegation, said on Wednesday that the issue of anti-Iran sanctions is among the key topics on the agenda of this round of talks.