We are now witnessing that the previous sanctions against Iran were all futile, Lukashevich said in an interview with IRNA on Thursday.
On June 9, 2010, Russia along with 11 other UNSC members voted in favor of a US-engineered resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over the county's nuclear program.
Moscow has repeatedly announced its opposition to imposing “useless” sanctions against Iran by the international community, such as embargoing the country's energy sector, Lukashevich added.
On November 21, the United States, Britain and Canada imposed new sanctions against Iran's energy and financial sectors.
The US, Israel and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this allegation as a pretext to sway the UNSC to impose four rounds of sanctions on Iran.
Tehran has categorically refuted Western allegations, saying that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to acquire and develop atomic technology for peaceful purposes.
The Russian official said Moscow invites those countries involved in Iran's nuclear negotiations to resume talks between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 -- Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany.
Lukashevich added that negotiations are the only solution to end the current standoff over Iran's nuclear program.
press tv/2817
Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich says the sanctions imposed against Iran by the UN Security Council (UNSC) have proved “futile”.
News ID 181303
