Azerbaijan, Baku, October 16 / Trend , T.Konyayeva /
Despite the statements by the Foreign Minister of Russia on the counter-productivity of sanctions against Iran, it is likely that Russia will support taking soft measures to influence Iran, but does not officially support the military operation against it, said the President of the Middle East Institute Yevgeny Satanovsky.
"Russia can support sanctions in order not to worsen relations with the West, but in a soft form, which the West will be ready to take without Russia, Satanovsky told Trend via e-mail. - But openly Russia does not support the military operation against Iran, although it will not prevent it.
The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov this week in Moscow. During the negotiations, Lavrov mentioned the need for dialogue with Tehran and said that the threat of sanctions at this time is counterproductive.
According to Lavrov, not all political and diplomatic measures in the situation with Iran's nuclear program have exhausted, and Russia opposes against sanctions.
Until now, Russia and China, two permanent members of UN Security Council, opposed against the introduction of new restrictive measures against Iran. Moreover, since September, Chinese companies have actively resumed exports of gasoline to Iran, the supply of which the United States and several Western countries intend to limit.
Satanovsky believes that practically there is no chance that China will reconsider its position on sanctions, and support their application.
With regards to the differences that arose between the member countries of the UN Security Council, the Russian expert said that it is not about increasing of differences, but initially different positions, which "proceed from the balance of risks and interests that differ for all parties concerned."
U.S. and other Western countries accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons for military purposes under the guise of peaceful nuclear energy program and discuss the possibility of new sanctions against Iran. Until now, UN Security Council adopted five resolutions, three of which are aimed at imposing sanctions against Iran, requiring it to give up uranium enrichment, and two resolutions containing warnings.