Proposed Summit of Seven on Iran, or Maybe a ‘Snapback’
Aug. 16, 2020 (EIRNS)—“We’ll be doing a snapback,” Trump said during a news conference at his New Jersey golf club, reported AFP. “You’ll be watching it next week.” Trump also said yesterday he would “probably not” take part in a summit proposed by Putin on Aug. 14 to address the Southwest Asian security situation. “I think we’ll wait until after the election,” he said.
The State Department has dismissed Putin’s proposal, insisting that the UNSC is the best forum for discussing Iran.
“The United States has for the last 19 months sought to foster dialogue and discussion with Russia and other Security Council members on extending the UN arms embargo. Russia has repeatedly, and puzzlingly, claimed there is no legitimate basis to discuss extending the UN arms embargo at the UN Security Council and has refused to negotiate on any of the texts we proposed,”
a State Department spokesperson told Sputnik. “The United States believes strongly that the Security Council is the best place to have discussions related to extending the UN arms embargo, and we have the benefit of 13 years of Security Council precedent on our side,” the spokesperson added.
(Perhaps the State Department should consider the fact that the Security Council just discussed the arms embargo. Only the Dominican Republic voted for the U.S. resolution for it, while Russia and China voted no, and every single other member abstained!)
TASS reports that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo discussed Putin’s proposal, but gave no readout on how the discussion concluded.
China, on the other hand, has welcomed Putin‛s proposal. China appreciates Russia’s efforts to ease tensions on the Iranian nuclear issue and to strengthen regional security, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, reported Xinhua. China has always firmly supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and is devoted to safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East, said Zhao. “China is willing to work with parties concerned to keep close communication and coordination, and jointly promote the process of political resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue.”
At the same time, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed U.S. claims about the seizure of Iranian oil from four tankers, saying hollow and cheap propaganda doesn’t deflect from miserable failure of the U.S. diplomatic malpractice at UN. “Pirates of the Caribbean have their own judges and courts now. Sadly for them, stolen booty wasn’t Iran’s,” Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on Saturday. “Fuel was sold F.O.B. Persian Gulf. Ship and flag weren’t ours either. Hollow, cheap propaganda doesn’t deflect from miserable failure of U.S. diplomatic malpractice at UN,” he declared.
