Iran is waiting to see whether Europe, Russia and China will be able to make up for Iran’s losses caused by the US exit from the nuclear deal in a way that its international trade is not disrupted, says a senior diplomat.
“It is no secret that the JCPOA is not in a normal situation. The US has pulled out and sanctions will be reimposed. It is apparent that the equilibrium of this international agreement has been disturbed,” Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told IRNA on Friday, in reference to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed between Iran and the six world powers in 2015.
He made the comments after a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Ryabkov, in Moscow, in which the sides discussed the future of the nuclear accord after President Donald Trump ‘s said in May his country was pulling out of the landmark agreement .
US Absence
“We are waiting to see whether the remaining participants in the JCPOA, namely European countries, Russia and China, will be able to compensate for the US absence in the deal and help safeguard Iran’s interests under the JCPOA” Araqchi said.
“Our decision in this regard depends on talks with the European countries, China and Russia.”
He had “very good” discussions with the Russian deputy foreign minister, and “We will continue the negotiations.”
Russia Ties
Asked whether Iran has any specific expectation from Russia, the official said, “Relations between Iran and Russia go beyond the JCPOA. With or without this agreement, we will continue cooperating with Russia.”
Moscow as a matter of policy has always supported the nuclear agreement and insists that the Islamic Republic’s demands should be upheld and its interests safeguarded, he added.
Illegal Sanctions
In the meeting between Araqchi and Ryabkov, the two vowed to continue coordinating efforts to protect their trade and economic ties from the unilateral US sanctions.
“The focus was on two-say cooperation in the interests of keeping in place the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday after the talks, TASS news agency reported.
“It was agreed to continue close coordination on this matter to ensure protection of bilateral trade and economic cooperation from the United States’ illegal extraterritorial unilateral sanctions,” the statement read.
