Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that United States sanctions have worsened aviation safety, commenting on the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Reuters and News.bg report.
According to Iranian media, there is footage showing that the US-made Bell 212 helicopter Raisi was traveling in on the fateful day crashed into a mountain peak. However, there is still no official information about the cause of the plane crash.
Iran was a major buyer of Bell helicopters before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, although the exact origin of the crashed machine was unclear. Decades of sanctions have made it difficult for Tehran to procure parts or upgrade its helicopters.
"The Americans deny this, but the truth is that other countries against which the US has announced sanctions do not receive spare parts for American equipment, including aviation,", Lavrov said about the crash.
"We are talking about deliberately causing damage to ordinary citizens who use these vehicles, and when spare parts are not supplied, this is directly related to a reduction in the level of safety," he said categorically.