Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that US moves to
slap sanctions on foreign companies doing business with Iran are complicating
international efforts aimed at Tehran's agreement to halt uranium enrichment.
A "unilateral" U.S. law to impose sanctions on those companies "impedes the
work of the sextet in its collective format," Lavrov said referring to the six
nations that have offered Iran an incentives package in exchange for a freeze on
its enrichment work, the Interfax news agency reported.
"We had an agreement that we would do everything together, including
analyzing the situation and working out means of pressure. What has happened has
happened. We'll see what can be done in this situation," Lavrov said.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana reported on Wednesday no
breakthrough in his talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program, while
Tehran remained defiant to the United Nations' demand for a suspension of
uranium enrichment.