The eighth round of talks to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program starts Monday in Vienna. It will open with a meeting of the Joint Commission of Iran and the "five" international mediators (Russia, Britain, Germany, China and France), whose representatives will continue to discuss the prospect of implementing the JCPOA in its original form and the return of the US to this multilateral agreement.
Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Russian delegation at the talks and Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, noted in a conversation with TASS correspondent that the eighth round could be the last, but for this, it should be the longest, because a very large amount of work has to be done. According to him, there is a general desire to try to finish all the negotiating work before the end of January - the beginning of February next year.
Ulyanov pointed out that the seventh round, which ended on December 17, managed to clear the way for the editorial work on the documents lying on the table, which were worked out after six rounds. Negotiators also managed to warm up to one another in view of the arrival of a new Iranian delegation, which proposed textual amendments to the document on nuclear issues.
There is still no direct contact between the Iranian and US delegations at the talks in Vienna. The parties are communicating indirectly through the EU coordinator. In this regard, Ulyanov noted pragmatic cooperation with the US Special Representative for Iran Robert Malley, who heads the US delegation. The Russian diplomat described the efforts of Russia and the US, which made it possible to make significant progress in the work done in Vienna, as encouraging.
Negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal have been taking place in Vienna since April 2021. Negotiators have already confirmed that the work will continue on the basis of documents that had been worked out in six rounds by June 2021. It was noted that all parties are striving to restore the JCPOA to its original form. For example, the parties determined which US sanctions on Iran were to be lifted and the list of nuclear-related steps that Iran should take to return to its nuclear commitments.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS