Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the United States and other Western nations on Thursday against imposing unilateral sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, Interfax news agency reported.
The European Union has said it may impose unilateral sanctions if a U.N. Security Council resolution fails.
Putin issues Obama a stern warning
U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has been lobbying Western companies not to do business with Iran, but has not imposed sanctions against them.
Countries facing Security Council sanctions “cannot under any circumstances be the subject of one-sided sanctions imposed by one or other government bypassing the Security Council”, Lavrov was quoted as saying by Interfax.
“The position of the United States today does not display understanding of this absolutely clear truth.”
Russia is in talks with the United States and other U.N. Security Council members on a fourth round of sanctions. Moscow has indicated it could support broader sanctions but has stressed they must not harm the Iranian people.
Washington has not publicly warned of unilateral sanctions but has made clear it wants tougher measures than veto-wielding Security Council member Russia is likely to accept.
Read More: Reuters
Tags: Barack Obama, Iran, Russia, Sanctions, USPresident Barack Obama acknowledged Tuesday that, despite his full-court press for tough sanctions aimed at persuading Iran to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program, he could not promise that China and other major powers would go along.
“I am going to push as hard as I can to make sure that we get strong sanctions that have consequences for Iran as it’s making calculations about its nuclear program, and that those are done on a timely basis,” Obama said during a news conference at the end of the 47-nation summit he convened in Washington to address the dangers of nuclear terrorism.
Obama admits, he will probably not get the international community behind his agenda
The president met Monday with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and afterward White House aides portrayed China’s willingness to discuss the mechanics of a sanctions plan as major development and a sign of international unity on the issue. But, on Tuesday, the president himself was more sanguine about prospect of achieving sanctions with bite.
Obama said he was “mindful” that many countries have trade and energy ties to Iran that could be disrupted, but that “a strong number of nations” on the United Nations Security Council support sanctions.
But he was quick to add, “I’m not going to speculate beyond that in terms of where we are.”
Obama also left open the possibility that the sanctions won’t be successful. “Sanctions are not a magic wand,” he said. “What sanctions can do….is to hopefully change the calculus of a country like Iran.”
Read More: By JOSH GERSTEIN, Politico
Tags: Barack Obama, China, Iran, Russia, SanctionsThe new U.S.-Russian arms control treaty is a much better deal for Russia than its predecessor, but Moscow reserves the right to withdraw from it if a planned U.S. missile defense system grows into a threat, Russia’s foreign minister said Tuesday.
Is a treaty really binding if Russia can just opt out?
Sergey Lavrov said Russia will issue a statement outlining the terms for such a withdrawal after President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign the treaty Thursday in Prague. The new accord replaces the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I, which expired in December.
Lavrov has said before that Russia could withdraw from the treaty. But his comments at a briefing Tuesday were his most specific yet on how and why a withdrawal could occur.
"Russia will have the right to opt out of the treaty if … the U.S. strategic missile defense begins to significantly affect the efficiency of Russian strategic nuclear forces," he said.
Read More: AP
Tags: arms treaty, opt out, RussiaThis has hardly been a stellar year for the projection of American global power. Weakness, rather than strength, has been the hallmark of US foreign policy under Barack Obama, from the Iranian nuclear crisis to dithering over the war in Afghanistan. Instead of strong American leadership, the White House has all too often offered humiliating apologies for America’s past and embarrassing gaffes.
Obama has been a disaster on the foreign stage
Here is a list of the ten biggest foreign policy follies of Barack Obama’s first year in office. I’ve tried to make the list inclusive of all corners of the world, ranging from Tehran to Tokyo to Khartoum, and frankly could easily have expanded it to a top 20 or even top 30 list. There are plenty to choose from, including some of the most cringe worthy moments in modern American history.
1. Surrendering to Russia over Missile Defence
The White House’s betrayal of US allies in eastern and central Europe by reneging on the deal to establish Third Site missile defences sent a clear signal that Washington was more concerned about appeasing Moscow than defending its friends. It symbolized all that is wrong with Obama’s foreign policy – including the willingness to curry favour with brutal enemies while giving the boot to some of America’s closest partners.
2. Appeasing the Mullahs of Iran
If Barack Obama makes a New Year’s resolution, I hope it will be that he stops appeasing Tehran. The White House’s strategy of engagement with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been nothing short of a spectacular failure. While Obama has been busy emulating the European Union’s dismal Common Foreign and Security Policy and sending polite video messages, the Mullahs and their puppets have been busy advancing their nuclear weapons programme, enriching uranium, supplying arms to the Taliban, capturing British sailors, test-firing long-range missiles, threatening the annihilation of Israel, and killing pro-democracy protestors.
Read More: By Nile Gardiner, UK Telegraph
Tags: Barack Obama, Blunders, Foreign policy Follies, Medvedev, Putin, RussiaIf Paris is for lovers, it looks like Moscow is for families.After passing on dinner with the French president to go on a date in the City of Light with his wife last month, President Obama took leave of his Russian hosts on Tuesday night to seclude himself in his Moscow hotel with his wife, Michelle, and their daughters.
The first family enjoyed a relaxed evening at the O2 Lounge, the super-chic, super-pricey rooftop club at the new Ritz-Carlton, although no doubt the Secret Service first cleared the place of most if not all of the swaggering tycoons and leggy models who flock to such Moscow venues.
the view from Obama's penthouse suite...
They could not ask for a more scenic vista. The glass-enclosed O2 offers a panoramic view of Moscow, including Red Square and the Kremlin, all the more striking as the lingering summer sun sets after 10 p.m. The club is “a place to see and be seen,” as its Web site says — that is, unless you are a visiting president who after a day and a half of blinis, beluga and bilats (the diplo term for “bilateral meetings”) just wants to hang out with the clan.
The decision to brush off the Russians on one of his two nights here miffed some in the Moscow government who did not understand why he would not devote the scarce time to his hosts.
Temporarily setting aside differences over more contentious issues, the two leaders agreed to cut the number of each state’s deployed nuclear warheads from roughly 2,200 to between 1,500 and 1,675 over the next seven years.
Mr Obama, speaking shortly after arriving in Moscow on a two-day visit, had predicted that he and his Russian counterpart could make “extraordinary progress” towards mending a relationship that has soured markedly in recent years.
A nuclear arms deal was meant to be the vehicle that established a fresh start between the former adversaries.
However, after nearly five hours of talks, the gains made were much more modest and disappointed activists who had called on both sides to set a limit of 1,000 deployed warheads.
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