Iran sues Russia for delivery of S-300 SAM system
25 Aug 2011
Iran has appealed in an international court against a Russian decision not to sell the Islamic Republic its vaunted S-300 air defence systems. Russia expressed surprised at the announcement.
Iranian ambassador to Russia, Seyed Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi, confirmed in Moscow Wednesday that his country had indeed filed a suit against Russia with an international court because of its refusal to supply Iran with S-300 air defence missile systems. The contract was originally worth some $800 million.
He was speaking at a press conference on Wednesday.
"Considering the traditionally friendly nature of our bilateral relations, it was certainly surprising to us that our Iranian partners have chosen this exact measure," Russian foreign ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said in Moscow.
"For our part, we would deem it much more constructive to jointly look for mutually acceptable ways to settle disagreements which arise from time to time through direct dialogue," he said.
Lukashevich also said it was "impossible" that Russia would reverse its decision because of the limitations imposed by a resolution by the UN Security Council.
