Sergei Lavrov said U.S. President George W. Bush announced the decision to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as the two leaders met for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the current Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Vietnamese capital.
The sanctions, imposed on combat jet maker Sukhoi and the official Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport as part of a U.S. effort to stop the export of arms to Syria and Iran, were among the major issues discussed during the meeting.
"We hope the sanctions against Rosoboronexport will be lifted as well," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference.
In July this year, Washington accused the two Russian companies, as well as several counterparts from India and North Korea, of violating the U.S. Nonproliferation Act of 2000 by selling weapons to Iran. Russia denied any wrongdoing, saying all its weapons deals are in line with international regulations.
The sanctions against Sukhoi, the manufacturer of advanced Flanker fighters, and Rosoboronexport involved a ban on financial operations and the denial of export licenses.
