Moscow, Russian Federation (AHN) - Nearly three months after the United Nations imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday banned selling S-300 air defense missiles to Iran.

The Kremlin said in a statement that the president signed the long-awaited decree 'On Measures' to implement the U.N. Security Council resolution 1929 from June 9, 2010.

The decree will ban supplies of S-300 missiles, tanks, choppers, fighter jets, ships and other arms to Iran.

Talking to reporters, Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov said that Russia had cancelled its plans to supply S-300 missiles to the Islamic Republic due to international sanctions on the country over its controversial nuclear program. Soon after the Kremlin made the announcement public through its website.

Referring to the U.N. sanctions, Makarov said that the Russian leadership took the decision of stopping the supply process. The Army is only conveying the information, said Makarov, adding that it held no other role.

However, he remained indefinite when asked whether Russia permanently cancelled the contract. But said, "We will see, this will depend on Iran's behavior," Makarov said.

In June, Medvedev’s close aide had said that Moscow would scrap the S-300 missile deal through a decree. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had also assured French President Nicolas Sarkozy that his country would not sell any missiles to Iran.

The move will improve Russia’s relations with its former cold-war era foe the United States.

The U.S. had previously coiced appreciation to Russia for its support in the nuclear crisis. The improved duplomatic ties will further remove any possible hurdles and hoped that landmark Russia-U.S. nuclear arms treaty would soon be ratified, possibly by the end of this year.