National
0

Moscow Opposes Any Move to Undermine Nuclear Deal

Moscow Opposes Any Move to Undermine Nuclear Deal
Moscow Opposes Any Move to Undermine Nuclear Deal

A senior Russian diplomat said Moscow, along with the European Union, will remain committed to the Iran nuclear deal, despite the recent threats by US President Donald Trump against the international agreement as he extended a waiver of sanctions against Tehran for "the last time".

Moscow would oppose any attempts to undermine the nuclear agreement between major powers and Iran, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said recently, according to Sputnik.

"The JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] cannot be amended and we will oppose any attempts to hamper it," Ryabkov said.

The deputy minister said Trump's move raises questions concerning his negotiability on international issues, noting that Moscow will insistently explain to Washington the "viciousness" of its sanctions policy toward both Tehran and Pyongyang.

"We have a very negative stance on … decisions and statements announced by Washington, our worst expectations are coming true," Ryabkov said commenting on Trump's words, saying that the US demonstrated its preference for the use of power to solve issues.

Trump gave an ultimatum to the US Congress and European parties to the 2015 deal to fix the deal's "disastrous faults" in four months, or he could decide to terminate the hard-earned accord.

  Under Close Watch  

Ryabkov underlined that statements by Trump will be very carefully studied in North Korea and other countries and may influence the existing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

"According to our estimates, our American colleagues act in such a way as to constantly find opportunities to increase tensions on the Korean peninsula. Despite the signs that there has been some shift in the direction toward political dialogue, here we also note intra-Korean contacts, which are very important—despite this, Washington is looking for ways to constantly remind everyone, including in Northeast Asia, that it is committed to pressuring and methods of force, and, using this same American terminology, keeping all the options on the table," he said.

The diplomat noted that there was no sense in overestimating Trump's decision on waiving the Iran sanctions, as the United States was seeking to undermine the JCPOA and is reinforcing a radical approach to Iran-related issues.

"The prospect of the US withdrawal from the Iran deal will deliver a very serious blow to the whole system of international agreements and to the enhancing of the nuclear non-proliferation regime," Ryabkov said.

Speaking about a new deal on Iran, which the US has proposed, he stressed that Moscow could hardly understand how it might look like.

"We do not understand what our American colleagues mean when they start to negotiate the development of some new agreement, which, as they think, will 'correct the shortcomings' of the existing agreement."

"It has been announced in advance that Iran, Russia and China are not invited to negotiations concerning this agreement. This is the US' decision, the content of the talks and their subject is unclear. But for us, strictly speaking, they are of little interest because the JCPOA is not subject to correction," Ryabkov stressed.

 

Add new comment

Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints

Financialtribune.com