Reaching Agreement in Vienna Talks on JCPOA Possible: Russia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said the Vienna negotiations aimed at reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) are speeding up and the chances for reaching a solution have increased.
"The Vienna talks have speeded up. We believe that the chances to reach a solution within the framework that had been developed during the previous rounds, including six rounds held until June 20, have increased. This is a positive thing. All parties are demonstrating readiness to solve the remaining problems," the Russian deputy foreign minister said.
Ryabkov also mentioned that "various schemes were possible" for reaching the ultimate goal, the restoration of the Iranian nuclear deal in its original form.
"A step-by-step approach based on reciprocity (is likely to be used) to achieve the main goal," the senior diplomat pointed out.
"I would like to emphasize that possible intermediate steps are not going to replace, substitute the basic agreement, which needs to be fully restored. The Russian side proceeds from this, while providing political and diplomatic assistance to (…) Iranians, Americans and Europeans," Ryabkov stated.
As the diplomat said, he also sees no need for setting any deadlines for reaching a final decision on the Iranian nuclear deal.
On Friday, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said progress has been made regarding the nuclear negotiations in Vienna although time is running out.
“I remain convinced we can reach a deal. But time is running out,” Le Drian told BFM TV and RMC Radio.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price has also noted that the nuclear deal talks with Iran in Vienna had shown modest progress, and that Washington hopes to build on the progress that had been made.
On January 3, the eighth round of the Vienna talks, aiming to restore the JCPOA in its original form and return the US to this multilateral agreement, resumed after the New Year’s break.
Following the meeting of the Joint Commission and the P4+1 countries (Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany), the sides agreed to facilitate the work on the draft treaty and complete it by early February 2022.
However, Iran made it clear that Tehran seeks only a lasting and dependable agreement in the Vienna talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, stressing that a temporary deal will get nowhere.
Earlier this week, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Islamic Republic has not proposed anything beyond the JCPOA in Vienna and will not agree about any thing other than all four subjects in the negotiations, namely the removal of sanctions, verification, receiving assurances, and the nuclear issues.
Later in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said reaching a good agreement is possible in the ongoing talks in Vienna if the Western side possesses the required goodwill.
During the previous round of the talks, the first under Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran presented new proposals at the negotiating table to help the talks move forward and later criticized the European signatories of the JCPOA for failing to follow suit and remaining passive.