Russian envoy: big EU companies not to oppose US sanctions on Iran

Big EU companies are not ready to oppose US sanctions on Iran despite the European Union’s decision to neutralize the extraterritorial effects of US sanctions, Russian Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said.

He noted that "big EU companies have already made their choice, making it clear they were not ready to oppose US sanctions and continue their activities on the Iranian market."

"I have information about at least a hundred such companies coming from EU member states," the Russian envoy said. 

"Their choice is easy to understand in a quantitative sense as their business in the US is larger than in Iran," the diplomat pointed out. "This is why their interests concerning financing and production are more closely linked with the US market and - which is the most important thing - the global financial system based on the US dollar," TASS cited him as saying.

Chizhov believes that the EU’s moves could help small and middle-sized European companies not depending on the US market and the dollar. "They would be glad to use the opportunities that the Iranian market offers but the problem is that they don’t usually trade in oil while Iran’s priority target is to sell oil. Judging from figures, Iran has been selling three-thirds of its oil to China and is likely to continue doing that but the remaining one-third is a rather large amount," the Russian envoy explained.