The legitimate interests of each party to the Iranian nuclear deal are to be defended jointly, according to a statement made by Sergey Lavrov at a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister of Iran, Javad Zarif. The talks took place in Moscow.
Darya Kozlova is reporting on their early results.
The negotiations on Smolenskaya Square lasted about an hour and a half. The Iranian delegation includes top political and economic officials. Javad Zarif arrived in Moscow from Beijing, where he had met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. All the talks have the same issue on the agenda — the new reality of the nuclear deal, now without the USA on board. Washington is reimposing the sanctions that had been suspended after the 2015 agreement. What's more, it's introducing new sanctions. How should the interests of Iran be defended? That's one of the top items on the agenda right now.
Javad Zarif: "The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was designed to balance the interests of Iran, Europe, and the US. Of course, the US withdrawal undermines this balance. We must consider the ways to cater to the interests of the Iranian people".
In addition, Donald Trump's decision has fueled the conflict between the United States and Europe. Former CIA director Michael Hayden said in his interview with Der Spiegel that the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal may undermine the transatlantic relationship. Earlier, the US Ambassador to Germany had demanded that German companies cease their activity in Iran. It comes despite the fact that all the parties to the deal have already confirmed their commitment to the 2015 agreement and now intend to defend their legitimate interests.
Sergey Lavrov: "Iran, Russia, and the other parties to this agreement, including China and Europe, also have their own legitimate interests, which were stipulated in this agreement and approved by the UN Security Council. This is why we should work together to protect the legitimate interests of every one of us. Today we hope to discuss the possibility of rallying the assistance of the three main European countries plus China, Russia, Iran, and the European Union, to hold the necessary meetings and come up with the steps needed to preserve this crucial document, which is important for regional stability and the maintenance of a WMD nonproliferation regime".
Russia has repeatedly stressed the need to preserve the Iran nuclear deal and its importance for regional stability and the nuclear nonproliferation regime. Similar statements were made by the leaders of France, Germany, Great Britain, and China. Iran's president had held a teleconference with the British Prime Minister the day before. Meetings between the Iranian Foreign Minister and the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the UK as well as Europe's chief diplomat, Federica Mogherini, are scheduled for tomorrow.
Darya Kozlova, Mikhail Knyazev, Andrey Vereshchagin, German Makiyenko for Vesti.
