Russia, EU Discuss JCPOA

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and EU Ambassador to Russia Markus Ederer discussed the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. "During the meeting, [the two sides] discussed the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program along with some other pressing international issues," the ministry was cited as saying by TASS. In July 2015, Iran and P5+1 (five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) reached an agreement on Tehran's nuclear program.  The action plan eased international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear activities in return for Tehran's pledge to scale back its nuclear program and place it under full international control. On January 16, 2016, the parties announced that the implementation of the deal had begun.