China and Russia Turn Their Backs on Pompeo Bullying

Aug. 20, 2020 (EIRNS)—Both Russia and China responded to the threats issued yesterday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to impose new sanctions on any country that refuses to go along with the U.S. demand to reimpose all UN sanctions on Iran. “The United States earlier declared its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and has no due competence for demanding sanctions,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said this morning. This Chinese stance, he said, “gained broad recognition among members of the international community.” “We are against one-sided measures ... and demand the U.S. respect the rights of other states,” he said.

In Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the U.S. move “absurd” and said that any U.S. threats against Russia and China for not cooperating on Iran are baseless. “After the United States left the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], it has lost all rights within this document. It has no legal or political rights to use the articles of [UNSC Resolution] 2231 against Iran, we think. It is absurd. We condemn these actions by the United States. No statements that we hear from Washington about Russia and China allegedly having to think about consequences—in the usual U.S. style—will change our position,” the Russian diplomat said.