MOSCOW: While Russia has condemned Washington for its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, Moscow remains less exposed to the economic consequences of U.S. sanctions than Europe and its companies could even benefit from the move.
“The deal and the lifting of sanctions in 2015 marked the return of European business to Iran. But it’s unlikely they can keep doing business today, giving room to Russia,” said independent political scientist Vladimir Sotnikov.
“Russia can now go ahead at full speed,” he added.
Russia and Iran once had difficult relations, but have seen ties improve since the end of the Cold War.
While Tehran was shunned by the international community in the 1990s, Moscow agreed to resume the construction of the Bushehr Iranian nuclear plant that Germany had abandoned.
Russia and Iran sought to strengthen their business ties long before the 2015 agreement, despite international sanctions in place.
“European companies are more exposed to the U.S. market, they must comply not to get into trouble. The Russians are less (exposed) and have less to lose,” said Igor Delanoe, an analyst at the Franco-Russian Observatory group.
He added that Russian companies continued to work in Iran “without any fuss” even when the sanctions were in place.
“They are used to working within legal and economic constraints. The U.S. has systematically forced Iran to turn more towards Russia and China.”
The situation could revitalise Russian-Iranian economic ties that have been losing ground in recent years despite the involvement of Russian nuclear and oil giants in the Middle Eastern country.
According to Delanoe, bilateral trade amounted to $1.7 billion in 2017, down 20 percent from the previous year and well below the more than $3 billion in the late 2000s.
