Russia and Iran confirm the importance of maintaining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program (JCPOA), despite the destructive position of the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"We discussed in detail the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to resolve the Iranian nuclear program. We noted the importance, despite the openly destructive line of the US, of preserving this agreement, which remains an important factor in maintaining international security, " Lavrov said during a press conference following talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, in turn, said that Tehran would not allow turning the IAEA into an instrument for the destruction of JCPOA.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is constantly working with great transparency with the IAEA. After 15 reports, the IAEA showed that Iran fully complies with its obligations in the context of the JCPOA. We continue to cooperate fully with the IAEA in all areas where they have authority. But we will not allow Iran to become the subject of proceedings over the spying documents that were spoken out... We will not allow the IAEA to become a tool for abuse by those who want to destroy the JCPOA, and who are in principle opposed to international organizations, " Zarif said.
Speaking to the IAEA Board of Governors on Monday, IAEA Director-General Raphael Grossi called on Iran to immediately grant access to two sites that Tehran has not allowed Agency inspectors to visit for more than four months. The IAEA Director-General also expressed concern that Iran has not entered into a meaningful discussion for almost a year to clarify issues related to possibly undeclared nuclear materials and nuclear activity. At the same time, Grossi said that Iran continued to cooperate with the IAEA on monitoring the implementation of the nuclear deal at the same level, despite the January statement by Tehran on the termination of all obligations under the JCPOA.
Separately, at a press conference following talks with Zarif, Sergey Lavrov commented on the US plans to extend the arms embargo against Iran.
"The fact that the United States is trying to block the implementation of all other parties to the JCPOA of their obligations to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and at the same time wants to punish the Islamic Republic of Iran by promoting illegitimate and absolutely illegal initiatives, including the arms embargo, I believe this is an attempt with useless means. It has no perspective from the point of view of international law, and we use all the opportunities that this international law provides for justice to prevail," Lavrov said.
"I can assure you that we will do everything to ensure that no one can destroy the agreements that are enshrined in the JCPOA. If this plan does not fit into the logic of the current American administration, if it considers this plan a bad deal, then this is the position of Washington. But Washington can't have any rights to punish Iran by speculating on the authority of the UN Security Council and manipulating the Security Council, and to a certain extent the UN Secretariat, " he stressed.
Lavrov also said that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' response to his letter on the situation around the JCPOA and US attempts to extend the arms embargo against Iran has not yet been received.
"Regarding my letter to the UN Secretary-General and the same letter that was sent to the President of the Security Council (UN) for distribution to all members of this body, no responses have yet been received," Lavrov said.
"I believe that the letter sets out quite serious arguments, it is done on five pages. I hope that the letter is being studied and all the irrefutable legal arguments that we have outlined in this document will be carefully analyzed and supported," the Russian Minister said.
The Foreign Ministers of Russia and Iran also touched upon the situation in Syria.
The parties confirmed that there was no alternative to the agreements reached in the Astana format.
"We exchanged views on the Syrian settlement, confirmed that there was no alternative to the agreements reached in the Astana format and, in particular, their anti-terrorist component, while unconditionally respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic," Lavrov said.
He added that the parties discussed the tasks of stabilizing the situation on the ground, the tasks of post-conflict reconstruction of Syria, as well as the tasks of facilitating the return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons and providing humanitarian assistance to the population in need.
For his part, the Iranian Foreign Minister said that attempts by the United States to destabilize the situation in Syria should not succeed, they should be thwarted.
"We are concerned about the development of the situation in Syria in terms of economy and politics. The US attempts to continue economic pressure on Syria, of course, affect the Syrian people. It is necessary to make sure that all US attempts to destabilize our region and in particular, Syria will not succeed, " he said.
Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Russia, Turkey and Iran have agreed to hold an online summit of the Astana Troika on Syria, and as soon as conditions allow, a face-to-face meeting of the three heads of state will be held.
"We will first hold the Astana summit in a virtual space, and then in a face-to-face format. Today I received the consent of Mr (Russian Foreign Minister Sergey -ed.) Lavrov. Yesterday, I also received the consent of the Turkish Foreign Minister to hold an online meeting in the Astana format, so the leaders of the three countries will hold the summit online," Zarif said.
He noted that as soon as conditions allow, the heads of the three states would hold a face-to-face meeting.
The video conference of the leaders of the Astana Troika countries, according to Lavrov, may take place before the meeting of the Constitutional Committee of Syria in August.
"I think that it is quite possible to hold a video conference of the three leaders before Mr. (Geir) Pedersen, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, will convene the drafting Board of the Constitutional Committee, " Lavrov said.
Armed conflict has been ongoing in Syria since 2011. Negotiations in Nur-Sultan, known as the Astana format (after the former name of the capital of Kazakhstan), have been underway since 2017, and in January 2018, the Congress of the Syrian national dialogue was held in Sochi, which was the first attempt since the beginning of the conflict to gather a wide range of participants on one negotiating platform. The main result of the Congress was the decision to create a Constitutional Committee, which works in Geneva and whose main task is to prepare a constitutional reform.
The last round of meetings of the Constitutional Committee was held in Geneva at the end of November last year, but the meetings of the small group (which prepares the main initiatives) did not take place due to disagreements between the delegations.
In May, the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the UN office in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said that an attempt to convene the Constitutional Committee of Syria in Geneva would be made as soon as the situation with COVID-19 allows.
Another topic of talks between Lavrov and Zarif was the settlement in Libya.
Sergey Lavrov said that it was necessary to encourage the parties to the conflict in Libya to sit down at the negotiating table without preconditions.
"It is necessary to communicate with all parties to the conflict, it is necessary to encourage all parties to the conflict to come together, sit down at the negotiating table without any preconditions and begin to negotiate," Lavrov said.
The Minister stressed that Moscow has been following this line from the very beginning, both in the Syrian crisis and in terms of actions to support the Libyan settlement.
After the overthrow and death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya effectively ceased to function as a single state. Now the country is ruled by dual power. The East is ruled by the Parliament elected by the people, and the West, in the capital Tripoli, - the Government of National Accord, formed with the support of the UN and the European Union, led by Fayez Sarraj. The authorities in the Eastern part of the country operate independently of Tripoli and cooperate with the Libyan National Army led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who has not stopped trying to capture Tripoli since April 2019.
As for the Afghan settlement, the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Iran agreed to continue coordinating approaches to this issue.
"Together with our Iranian friends, we will continue to coordinate approaches to the Afghan settlement in order to launch the national reconciliation process as soon as possible and restore a peaceful and independent Afghanistan, from whose territory there are no threats of terrorism, drug trafficking or other threats," Lavrov said.
Russian Foreign Minister also announced the signing of a Declaration by Russia and Iran on enhancing the role of international law.
"Today we are signing an important document-the Declaration of the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran on enhancing the role of international law. We consider it very relevant, given the constant attempts of a number of countries to promote the flawed concept of a "rules-based world order", which undermines the cornerstone principles of justice and mutual respect laid down by our predecessors in the basis of international law and the UN Charter, " Lavrov said.
During the talks in Moscow, the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Iran noted progress on a number of joint projects in the economy.
"There is a good pace of progress on specific major projects that were agreed or planned during the next meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation. It took place in Isfahan last summer," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow and Tehran are preparing for the next meeting of the intergovernmental commission, which is to be held later this year in Russia. According to Lavrov, during the talks, the parties agreed to make efforts in favor of maintaining a stable growth of bilateral trade.
Mohammad Javad Zarif said that there was close cooperation between Iran and Russia, which even the situation with the pandemic could not prevent.
"Negotiations and consultations between Iran and Russia are ongoing. Even the coronavirus couldn't stop us. Over the past month, we held consultations ... We had two telephone conversations between our presidents, as well as video conferences between the co-chairs of the intergovernmental commission," Zarif said, stressing that "very good agreements have been reached on major bilateral projects", and expressed hope "that this will benefit our peoples".
Iran attaches great importance to cooperation with Russia, said Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"Of course, bilateral relations, from our point of view, are of strategic importance. Especially after our presidents ' phone conversations opened up new opportunities for cooperation," he said.
Zarif expressed solidarity with the Russian people, who also faced losses as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. "Many lives were lost. We would like to express our sympathy and solidarity with the Russians who lost their loved ones," the Minister said.
Iranian Foreign Minister also invited Sergey Lavrov to visit Tehran when the situation with the coronavirus allows.
"Once again, I want to confirm my invitation to my friend, Mr. Lavrov, and Mr. Lavrov accepted my invitation and said that when the situation allowed, he would pay a visit to Iran," Zarif said.
In late December 2019, Lavrov said that he accepted an invitation from his Iranian counterpart Zarif to visit Tehran in 2020.
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Photo: Press-service of the Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS
Based on materials from RIA Novosti, TASS