VIENNA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The European Union(EU)-initiated payment system with Iran has seen the completion of its first transactions and is expected to be officially launched after related procedures are aligned, a Russian official said after a joint commission of the Iranian nuclear deal meeting in Vienna on Sunday.
The system, formally known as the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), "is operating in a pilot mode. In order to make it operate in full mode some bureaucratic procedures between the INSTEX and the Iranian structure similar to INSTEX need to be finished," Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov was quoted by Sputnik news agency as saying.
It was announced in January that the INSTEX, the European Union (EU)'s payment system to facilitate trade with Iran to get around U.S. sanctions, would secure trade with Iran and skirt U.S. anti-Iran sanctions after Washington pulled out of the 2015 landmark Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018.
Following a meeting of the joint commission of the Iranian nuclear deal in June, the mechanism became operational and available to all EU member states.
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WNU Editor: EU companies will still be exposed to U.S. sanctions, but this new payment system will help those who want to do business with Iran. Here is a good description on how this payment mechanism is going to work .... How Instex, Europe's Trade Channel With Iran, Will Work (NPR).
Update: Russia now wants to join this EU system to circumvent U.S. sanctions .... Russia wants in on INSTEX (Al Jazeera).
