MOSCOW. Oct 17 (Interfax) - Moscow will make U.S. diplomats "come down to earth" by explaining to them the absence of any direct connection between the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and Iran's missile program, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"There is no direct and immediate link between the nuclear and missile programs in the text. The text of [UN Security Council] Resolution 2332 only calls on Iran to refrain from launches of missiles designed in such a way that they can carry nuclear weapons. Each element of this provision of the resolution interprets the situation absolutely differently from how the highest-ranking officials of the administration and American diplomats are trying to portray it today," Ryabkov told reporters.
"We will persistently make them come down to earth and explain the real situation. One cannot ingrain one's own ideas of what is good, what is bad, what is necessary and what is not allowed into the fabric of interstate communication in such a coercive and absolutely inflexible way. This method is unacceptable," he said.
"As far as Iran's missile program is concerned, we have spent many weeks, months and now even years discussing this topic with the U.S. and other participants," he said.
"I am certain that our Iranian colleagues, who went through the crucible of talks while drawing up the JCPOA, do not now feel any of the "shivers" the U.S. administration may have been counting on when sending such signals. We will act together with them in a calm and consistent manner and with confidence that we are right to defend the JCPOA and defend the current course and path of its implementation," he said.