Russia will seek to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program (JCPOA) in its original configuration without any exceptions or addenda. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this at a press conference on Thursday following the talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in Tehran.
"We will ensure that the JCPOA is restored in its original configuration, as it was approved in 2015 by a UN Security Council resolution, without any exceptions, without any additions, and that all the illegal anti-Iranian sanctions that contradict the JCPOA are lifted," Lavrov stressed.
He drew attention to the fact that Russia, "together with other signatories of the JCPOA, has been making efforts for quite a long time now to correct the mistake made by the US when it withdrew from the deal, withdrew from the relevant UN Security Council resolution, once again amending its obligations under international law".
"We hope that Washington will make a rational choice, although there is no definitive certainty about this," Lavrov added.
'Inconsistent' actions
Washington is acting totally inconsistently on virtually every international issue, including the JCPOA on Iran's nuclear program, Lavrov said.
"The US is acting totally inconsistently not only with regard to the JCPOA, but with regard to virtually any other issue that is on the international agenda, being guided by some momentary considerations, looking back at what problems arise within the US itself and how they can try to distract voters from these internal problems," the Russian diplomat said.
"What the US is doing in the negotiations on the resumption of the JCPOA is an example of exactly that kind of action, where the focus is primarily on a picture aimed at confirming the absolutely unchallenged leadership role of the US on any issue on the international agenda," Lavrov pointed out.
According to the Minister, attempts to put "a falsely understood reputation ahead of substantive issues" are rather risky. He recalled how the US tried a year ago to blame Russia for the delay in agreeing to full resumption of the JCPOA. "That was, to put it mildly, untrue. And everyone is well aware of that. A year ago, Russia, like all parties to the agreement, reiterated our willingness to resume it in full, since then the US has been single-handedly stalling agreement," he pointed out.
"We have here once again confirmed to our Iranian friends that we will support in every possible way their position on the need to resume the JCPOA in full, without any exception, without any unacceptable additions. Of course, this implies the lifting of all illegal sanctions," Lavrov stressed.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS