JCPOA, Regional Developments on Agenda of Talks in Moscow: Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a number of subjects, including the 2015 nuclear deal and the latest developments in the region, will be discussed in meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
"In addition to bilateral talks and bilateral cooperation, we will hold talks (with Russians) on regional issues" such as the Israeli regime's recent assaults against regional states, Zarif told reporters upon arrival in Moscow on Sunday.
The comments came after the Hezbollah resistance movement attacked Israel’s military vehicles earlier in the day in response to recent Israeli drone attacks in Lebanon.
Zarif further said that he would discuss other subjects during his Monday talks with Lavrov.
"We are on the verge of the Astana talks (on Syria) in Turkey, and there is a need for coordination. We also need coordination on the Yemen issue."
He said the "serious developments in Afghanistan" will also be on the agenda of his Monday talks.
"Iran's special envoys for Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria (are) in the delegation visiting Russia, and will hold talks with their counterparts," Zarif added.
The top diplomat said he would also brief the Russian "friends" on the latest developments regarding the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), particularly the recent talks held in France.
"We have common stances on the JCPOA with Russia and China and many other global developments," he said.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the JCPOA.
The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies and its eventual withdrawal from the deal.
On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord.
Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the deal.
However, the EU’s failure to ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments, including an unlimited rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.
Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi said recently that the country’s enriched uranium stockpile has reached 360 to 370 kilograms.