Interfax: Gradual lift of sanctions against Tehran needed to resolve nuclear problem – expert

(Interfax – October 18, 2013) The Iranian nuclear problem cannot be resolved without a gradual lift of sanctions against Tehran, and the success of the latest negotiations does not add up to much, Russian Academy of Sciences Oriental Studies Institute Director Vitaly Naumkin said.

“This is just the first step and, in my opinion, it is too much early to assert a big success. One should not overestimate the significance of the minor agreements, which have been achieved,” he told reporters during the first international conference, “Security and Cooperation in the South China Sea,” which opened in Moscow on Friday.

The expert said he hoped that the negotiations with Iran would see progress once the West undertook a strategy of the gradual lifting its sanctions.

“Iran will not just make concessions; it adamantly states that the concessions it makes must be accompanied by a gradual lift of the sanctions. This is the essence of the Iranian position,” Naumkin said.