Allying With Iran Is Putin's Ace in the Hole
By Josh Cohen
Aug. 19 2014 19:20
Last edited 19:20
As Moscow considers new ways of responding to Western sanctions, both existing and potential, the Kremlin has a range of economic and political options at its fingertips.
In addition to its current ban on importing U.S. and EU foodstuffs, a ban on the import of foreign cars may also be in the works. President Vladimir Putin could also retaliate by prolonging Ukraine's gas cutoff and ratcheting up tensions in other states with substantial ethnic Russian populations such as Estonia and Latvia.
But perhaps the most damaging step Putin could take against Western interests would be to undermine the P5+1 [the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany] negotiations aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear program.
Six months of dialogue between Iran and the West recently failed to yield any agreement, and despite the fact that negotiations with Iran were extended until November, the two sides remain distant.
The West's major leverage against Tehran stems from its sanctions, which have cut Iran off from the global financial system and inflicted severe hardship on the Iranian economy and its people. Sanctions were instrumental in bringing the ayatollahs to the negotiating table, and these sanctions have remained largely in place during the ongoing P5+1 Iranian nuclear negotiations.
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http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/allying-with-iran-is-putin-s-ace-in-the-hole/505408.html