Russian Permanent Representative to Vienna assesses Iran's intentions to restore the JCPOA

06 October 2021


Moscow has no reason to believe that Tehran does not want to continue the process of restoring the nuclear deal; a return to the negotiating table is only a matter of time, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to the international organizations in Vienna, said.


The Iranian authorities have almost completed the formation of a team for negotiations on restoring the nuclear deal in Vienna, they will resume in the near future, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said earlier.


"Participation in the Vienna talks is voluntary. It is in the interests of all participants, including Iran. We have no reason to believe that Tehran does not want to continue the process. Returning to the negotiating table is a matter of time, not so distant future," Ulyanov wrote on Twitter.


In 2015, Britain, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, France and Iran signed the JCPOA. The deal involved the removal of sanctions in exchange for limiting Iran's nuclear program as a guarantee that Tehran would not obtain nuclear weapons. In May 2018, then US President Donald Trump decided to unilaterally withdraw and reinstate harsh sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran announced a phased reduction of its commitments under the agreement, abandoning restrictions on nuclear research, centrifuges, and uranium enrichment levels.


The sixth round of talks in Vienna on restoring the JCPOA and lifting US sanctions on Iran ended on June 20. According to Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to the international organizations in Vienna, the work to restore the deal is almost 90% complete. Only political points remain to be solved about the US obligations and how Washington will comply with them in the future. The Iranian foreign ministry said that the negotiations would be resumed in the autumn, since the government of new Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi, who won the elections in June, was expected to finally form.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: viennamission.mid.ru

Based on materials from RIA Novosti