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Russia Not Interested in Heating Up Situation Around Iran - Lavrov

VYSOKE TATRY (Sputnik) - Moscow is not interested in heating up the situation around Iran, expects Iran to show restraint, and emphasizes that Tehran does not violate the terms of the existing agreements with its actions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday.
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"We are certainly not interested in the situation around Iran and in the region, in general, getting heated... We expect Iran to show restraint, but we cannot close our eyes to objective facts, and the facts are that Iran, when it began to enrich uranium above 3.67 percent to 5 percent for a start... does not violate the NPT, the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, or the additional protocol to the agreement," Lavrov told reporters.

Moscow is ready to participate in a ministerial meeting of Iran and five international UN mediators — Russia, China, the United Kingdom, Germany and France — on the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as soon as specific agreements on the matter are reached, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

"There are suggestions to hold a ministerial-level meeting. We will be ready for it, but there is understanding that such a meeting should be held after specific agreements are reached, which cannot be seen yet," Lavrov told reporters.

In order to overcome the existing tensions, all the participants of the JCPOA should resume compliance with the deal, Lavrov stressed.

"If our US colleagues and other colleagues, in particular from Israel, have questions to Iran considering its missile program and its regional policy, anything can be discussed," Lavrov said.

The latest political directors-level meeting of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA was held on June 28, Lavrov recalled.

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