Putin urges to do all possible to keep JCPOA
Keeping the Iran nuclear deal in force will help prevent a new wave of tension around the Iranian nuclear program and it is necessary to do everything possible for that, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
Putin made the remarks at a meeting of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group of countries on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Argentina, TASS Reported.
In May, US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 agreement and reinstated anti-iran sanctions which had been lifted under the nuclear agreement.
The other parties to the deal – Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany – did not approve the US pullout and remained committed to the previous accords.
Since then, Iran and the remaining parties to the deal have been holding negotiations to save the accord.
The European Union has frequently announced its strong determination to preserve the nuclear deal, irrespective of the decision by US president.
During a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini pointed to the 2015 nuclear agreement as a key element for the global nonproliferation architecture and crucial for regional and global security, Press TV reported.
She then underlined the need for continued full and effective implementation of the JCOPA by all parties, including the economic benefits arising from it.
On September 24, Iran and its five partners released a joint statement announcing the setting up of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to facilitate continued trade with Iran, bypass the US financial system, and avoid any impact of America’s secondary sanctions.
Europe has been taking a range of measures to meet the Iranian demand for practical guarantees.
However, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that Tehran cannot wait forever for the establishment of the payment mechanism the Europeans have promised.
“We’ve so far witnessed that the European countries have the political will [to maintain business relations with Iran], and have not seen any sign that proves otherwise,” Araqchi said.
Araqchi said, “The Europeans have so far failed to introduce operational solutions required for securing Iran’s benefits under the deal, and we are not going to wait forever. We’ll take appropriate decisions in due time.”
“We are currently aware of the efforts being made [by Europe], and they regularly brief us on these efforts; therefore, we believe we should give them more time so that Europeans would be able to operationalize these solutions,” Araqchi said.
“We see that the US is exerting enormous pressures, and there are very serious technical and legal barriers to the establishment of the mechanism, which Europeans are trying to remove,” he said. “But they should know the time is certainly not unlimited,” he added.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Germany and France are going to host the SPV in defiance of US sanctions.