Araqchi: Texts Being Drafted As Latest Round of JCPOA Talks Concludes in Vienna
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – As the latest meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission came to an end in Vienna, Iran’s top negotiator Abbas Araqchi said the parties have begun to draft texts relating to certain issues on which they have reached an agreement.
“This is where things move ahead very slowly because drafting a text needs precision,” the senior Iranian diplomat told reporters in Vienna on Saturday after conclusion of the JCPOA Joint Commission meeting.
He said the third round of negotiations has concluded with some “maturity” and “clarity” while there remains a lengthy and bumpy road ahead.
“I can say that the discussions have reached maturity, both on the issues that are contentious and the issues over which there is agreement,” Araqchi noted.
He said the third round embodied “very intensive negotiations” at different levels and formats, adding that differences between the sides, as they dived into technical issues, have become clearer and more specific.
“We have specific subtle technical points and details on issues relating to (Iran’s) nuclear activities and the (US) sanctions, which need to be discussed,” he added.
Araqchi explained that although it is not predictable when and how the two sides can reach an agreement on the full restoration of the 2015 pact, “the format of any agreement will be definitely in accordance with the (Iranian) establishment’s positions.”
The Iranian deputy minister also said based on the agreements made so far all of the sanctions that targeted specific sectors, such as energy, finance, banking and insurance sectors must be removed, Press TV reported.
But talks are ongoing about a long list of individuals and institutions that have been put on the sanctions list, he said, adding that Iran seeks their removal from the list as well.
The Saturday’s session of the JCPOA Joint Commission was attended by the heads of delegations from the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, namely Iran, Russia, China, the UK, France and Germany.
It reviewed the progress in the activities of three working groups that focus on nuclear issues, the removal of sanctions, and the JCPOA implementation arrangements.
The three working groups and diplomatic teams held intensive negotiations in Vienna over the past days to agree on a final text about the revival of the nuclear deal or a possible return of the US to the JCPOA.
The negotiating teams from the Group 4+1 returned to their respective capitals after the Saturday meeting and are planned to meet again in Vienna on Friday.
The US left the JCPOA in 2018 and restored the economic sanctions that the accord had lifted. Tehran retaliated with remedial nuclear measures that it is entitled to take under the JCPOA’s Paragraph 36.