Tehran not optimistic Russia will abide by its commitment to deliver S-300 missiles to Iran, a diplomat in Iranian embassy in Moscow told Russian Ria Novosti news agency on Friday.
Debates in Iran about the delivery of S-300 missiles to Iran began again after President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that Syria has received a shipment of S-300 missiles from Russia.
Iranian media urged the government to pursue its lawsuit against Russia to have it to either fulfill its obligations or pay the $4 billion fine.
Given to the current situation in the region and Russia’s move to deliver S-300 missiles to Syria, Iran expects Russia to abide by its commitment.
Iran signed the $800 million contract with Russia for five battalions of S-300 air defense systems in 2007. However, in 2010 then-President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree terminating the contract.
After Medvedev’s order, Iran launched a $4 billion lawsuit against Russia’s state-run arms corporation Rosoboronexport in the international arbitration court in Geneva on April 13, 2011.
Moscow is trying to persuade Tehran to withdraw its lawsuit against Russia’s state-run arms export company Rosoboronexport over a cancelled deal to supply S-300 air defense systems to Iran, Russian Technologies (Rostech) CEO Sergei Chemezov said on Thursday in an interview with Ria Novosti.
“The lawsuit is being considered by an arbitration court in Geneva and, unfortunately, our chances to win the case are very slim. We are trying to agree an amicable settlement with Iran, but no progress has been made so far,” he said.
