Home ›› 15 Feb 2021 ›› World Biz
Moscow has discussed China's initiative to hold a multilateral meeting aimed at convincing the United States to rejoin the Iranian nuclear deal with Washington and Beijing and can take part in it, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters Monday.
"We discussed it with both Chinese and American colleagues. We are open to taking part in this even, even though it is clear that it is crucial to at least set out indicative understanding of what this meeting can result in for it to have meaningful substance," he said.
The senior diplomat underlined that the meeting is especially relevant as February 21 is approaching when the bill passed in Iran that frees Tehran from complying with the IAEA additional protocol enters into force unless the US lifts its sanctions. "We are calling on the US to show political will and send a signal to Iran and other members of the international community showing readiness to rejoin the JCPOA. It would be important to start by lifting all sanctions which formed the backbone of the so-called policy of maximum pressure towards Iran under the [former US President Donald] Trump administration," Ryabkov stressed.
The deputy minister is convinced that this step will stop the situation from deteriorating further as a result of pre-announced actions of Tehran. He added that Moscow is calling on the Iranian colleagues to show responsibility and restraint.
On February 9, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Wenbin said that Chinese authorities propose conducting multilateral talks as soon as possible to agree the issue of Washington's rejoining the Iranian nuclear deal. According to him, the meeting should discuss "the possibility of Washington's return to its agreements in accordance with a roadmap."
In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA and launched a maximum pressure campaign towards Iran, practically aimed at economical suffocation of the country.
