IRNA - The Russian ambassador to Beirut Alexander Zasypkin emphasized that Iran and Russia as two countries targeted by the US unilateral sanctions, will expand their cooperation in the future more than ever.


In an exclusive interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Zasypkin said the US sanctions would increase domestic power and also cooperation among countries to block the effects of sanctions.

He called for an alternative financial exchange system that is far from the dollar at the current juncture.

The Russian ambassador emphasized that his country would not reduce its relations with Iran under pressure from the United States, and cooperation between the two countries will continue at various levels of economic and political affairs, especially in the area of region�s security.

The Russian ambassador in response to the question of what his assessment of US sanctions against Iran is and will it succeed?, noted, �In all the experiences associated with the US unilateral sanctions against other countries, including Iran and Russia, we have not seen any significant results or radical changes. On the contrary, sanctions have contributed to increasing the strength of standing in the targeted countries, and these countries have moved towards alternative measures and ways to strengthen their domestic power.�

He went on to say that on the other hand, sanctions increase cooperation between targeted countries. �Accordingly, I expect Russia's and Iran's cooperation to increase in the future as a result of these sanctions. In this context, we need to speed up our cooperation in creating an alternative financial exchange system.�

Zasypkin noted, �As a result of the American economic wars in the world, we found the urgent need to establish an internal financial interchange system between countries. The current system is largely under the control of the United States and has become a major obstacle to the global economy. Therefore, we need to reform this system and, with the cooperation of countries, get rid of dollar, and create an advanced and balanced system for financial transactions in a sanctioned state.�

Russian ambassador to Lebanon in response to the question 'Will these sanctions place Iran in a position of weakness and continue to affect its allies, including Russia?' added, �I do not think so. On the contrary, there is now an attempt to develop relations between us and Iran in the economic and commercial spheres. The political positions of the two countries remain in place. We consider cooperation between the two countries in the Middle East, especially in Astana peace process and the Syrian situation, as well as the war against constructive terrorism. I emphasize that these goals are fixed and will not change.�