PARIS — UK, France, and Germany
warned Saturday against moves to "exploit" the Iran nuclear
negotiations — a tacit warning to
Russia which is accused of delaying an
agreement to gain leverage in its invasion of Ukraine.
اضافة اعلان
Negotiators in Vienna said Friday they had
halted talks despite having almost sealed a deal to revive the
2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to contain Iran's nuclear activities.
The setback came after Russia said it was
demanding guarantees that the Western sanctions imposed on its economy following
its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its trade with Iran.
"Nobody should seek to exploit JCPOA
negotiations to obtain assurances that are separate to the JCPOA," said a
statement on Saturday from the spokespersons for theUK, French, and German
foreign ministries — the three European parties to the negotiations.
"This risks the collapse of the deal,
depriving the Iranian people of sanctions lifting and the international
community of the assurance needed on Iran's nuclear program," they added.
The current round of negotiations started in
late November in the Austrian capital
Vienna between Britain, China, France,
Germany, Iran, and Russia, with the US taking part indirectly.
After the talks halted on Friday, the US put
the ball in Iran and Russia's court.
"We are confident that we can achieve
mutual return to compliance... (if) those decisions are made in places like
Tehran and Moscow," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
Russia's ambassador to the UN in Vienna,
Mikhail Ulyanov, told reporters outside the talks venue that he rejected
"attempts to put all the blame on the Russian Federation", insisting
that other parties to the talks "need additional time".
The JCPOA aimed to ensure Iran would not be
able to develop a nuclear weapon, which it has always denied seeking.
It unravelled when former US President
Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.
Trump re-imposed sanctions on
Iran,
prompting it to start disregarding the curbs laid down in the deal on its
nuclear activity.
"A fair and comprehensive deal is on
the table ready for conclusion," the European statement said on Saturday.
"It is our understanding that Iran and
the US have worked hard to resolve final bilateral issues and so we are ready
to conclude this deal now."
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