Don’t resort to Iran N-deal blackmail: France to Russia
VIENNA: France on Monday warned Russia not to resort to blackmail over efforts to revive a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, after Moscow demanded a US guarantee that sanctions it faces over Ukraine would not hurt its trade with Tehran.
Russia raised the potential stumbling block on Saturday, just as months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna over reviving the pact struck in 2015 appeared headed for agreement.
In Tehran, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Iran was awaiting an explanation of the Russian demand via “diplomatic channels”, adding however that the talks should not be affected by sanctions imposed on Moscow, whose contribution to negotiations so far had been constructive.
On Saturday, a senior Iranian official speaking to Reuters had called Russia’s move unconstructive.
Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia wanted a written US guarantee that Moscow’s trade, investment and militarytechnical cooperation with Iran would not be hindered by Western sanctions imposed since Russia invaded its neighbour.
A French presidency official told reporters late on Sunday that diplomats tended to treat each issue on its merits and not conflating them.
“Because otherwise, in reality, it’s just blackmail and not diplomacy,” he told reporters.
Western officials say compartmentalising the Iran nuclear dossier has been possible due to a common interest in avoiding a non-proliferation crisis. They are trying to ascertain if what Russia is demanding regards only its commitments to the Iran deal. That would be manageable, but anything beyond that would be problematic, they say.
The 2015 deal between Iran and the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China, eased sanctions on Tehran in return for limiting Iran’s enrichment of uranium, making it harder for Tehran to develop material for nuclear weapons.
It fell apart after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018.
The French presidency official urged Russia to assess what was at stake in Vienna, “that is to say Iran’s return to respecting its obligations under the JCPOA,” referring to the 2015 deal by its formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
A European diplomat added, “The Russians are really trying it on and the Iranians aren’t happy although of course not saying too much publicly. We’re trying to find a way through.”