Page 8 - IRANRptSep18

2.4 French, German ministers discussing financing solutions to sidestep US’s Iran and other sanctions
The French finance minister and German foreign minister have said they’re looking to find financing solutions to enable the sidestepping of US sanctions against countries such as Iran, Bloomberg reported on August 27.
The solutions would allow for central bank transfers, France’s Bruno Le Maire and Germany’s Heiko Maas said. The UK’s Bank of England may join the discussions on what solutions can be realised.
Iran is not satisfied with the pace of European efforts to help shield its trade and investment spheres from the recommenced US economic hostility. The difficulties of making satisfactory progress were demonstrated at the end of last week when G erman Chancellor Angela Merkel stopped short of backing a call from Maas for Europe to establish payment systems independent of the US.
“With Germany, we are determined to work on an independent European or Franco-German financing tool which would allow us to avoid being the collateral victims of US extra-territorial sanctions,” Le Maire reportedly said during a meeting with press association AJEF.
“I want Europe to be a sovereign continent, not a vassal, and that means having totally independent financing instruments that do not today exist.”
Maas was cited as saying in a speech in Berlin that while most of the “very difficult questions on the details” of any payments system were unresolved, at least the alternative of a nuclear escalation in the Middle East has so far been avoided by Europe, Russia and China protecting the Iran nuclear deal that the US has unilaterally walked out of. As well as the US sanctions against Iran, action taken against China, Russia and Turkey would also hit European business, he added.
“We have to react and strengthen Europe’s autonomy and sovereignty in trade, economic and finance policy,” Maas reportedly said.
Le Maire added that using the EU’s lending arm, the European Investment Bank, for trade and investment in Iran was not feasible due to the development bank’s exposure to US fundraising. Paris, he said, was now in discussions with central banks to open new channels to Iran and elsewhere.
2.5 Russian, Turkish and Iranian presidents to attend Iran summit over fate of last opposition holdout in Syria and US-backed Kurds
The presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran are to meet in the Iranian city of Tabriz on September 7 to discuss developments in Syria and how to deal with radical Islamic groups who control Idlib province, the last substantial opposition holdout in the conflict-torn country.
8 IRAN Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com