Russia Hopes US Will Amend European Missile Defense Plans Amid Iran Deal

Moscow hopes Washington will adjust its European missile defense plans amid Tuesday's nuclear deal with Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The minister added that Russia was open for dialogue on this matter.

"In his speech in Prague on April 5, 2009, US President Barack Obama stated that after the settlement of the situation surrounding Iran's nuclear program, the task of developing the European missile defense segment will lose relevance. We hope that our American colleagues remember this and will make the appropriate adjustments to their plans," Lavrov said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany — reached a final comprehensive agreement to ensure the peaceful nature of Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.

The Iranian nuclear deal could help expand military-technical cooperation between Russia and the Islamic Republic, Sergei Lavrov said.

"Opportunities for military-technical cooperation between Russia and Iran are being broadened, which is especially important in light of the pressing task of curbing the terrorism threat in the region."

The nuclear deal removes barriers to establish a broad coalition against the Islamic State, the Russian top diplomat noted.

"Barriers, largely artificial, against the formation of a broad coalition to combat the Islamic State and other terrorist groups are removed," Lavrov said.