BRUSSELS. Sept 17 (Interfax) - The logic and motivation behind Iran's actions with regard to implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are understandable, even though Russia thinks the country's latest steps were not conducive to preserving the deal, according to Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's permanent Representative to the European Union.
The Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a mechanism created to offset the effects of the United States' JCPOA withdrawal and re-imposition of sanctions against Iran, has so far failed in its job, Chizhov said in an interview with Interfax in Brussels.
"For Iran, a country that is used to sanctions, the sanctions themselves were hardly a tragedy. But their extraterritorial application by the United States, primarily in regard to financial institutions, has, of course, dealt a blow to Iran's key export - oil," Chizhov said.
After the U.S. exit from the JCPOA, the Iranians showed quite a lot of patience for a year, he said. "They continued strictly honoring their obligations, which was confirmed by regular reports of the IAEA [international Atomic Energy Agency], with which Tehran cooperated closely, as it still does, by the way, in the spirit of transparency.
"Having realized that direct implementation of the JCPOA clauses restoring trade and economic ties with Iran was not possible, the Euro-troika (Britain, Germany, and France) came up with a special payment mechanism, the INSTEX. A long time was spent finding, appointing, and replacing its chief. The thing is, by and large, the INSTEX has been practically a flop," Chizhov said.