Senior Russian, Iranian diplomats hold consultations on JCPOA, security issues
MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov visited Tehran on August 7-8 to hold consultations with his Iranian counterparts, Ali Bagheri Qiani and Reza Najafi, on the future of the Iran nuclear deal and other security issues, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
"Key attention was focused on the prospects for the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program," the ministry said. "The sides reiterated their commitment to further efforts to preserve and restore the full-fledged implementation of these important agreements that were endorsed by UN Security Council resolution 2231 and have no other reasonable alternative."
According to the ministry, the sides stressed "the unacceptability of any attempts on the part of the West to impose some new schemes and approaches to solving problems related to the JCPOA, which would damage the legitimate and mutually beneficial Russian-Iranian cooperation in various fields."
"Russia and Iran share a common understanding of the challenges the international community had to face while implementing the above-mentioned resolution due to the erroneous policy of ‘maximal pressure on Tehran’ conducted by the United States and its allies," the ministry said.
"During the consultations, the sides also coordinated their positions on a range of pressing international issues, including the review process under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the situation within the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, problems of biosecurity, and measures to prevent an arms race in outer space," it said, adding that coordination on these issues will be continued.
While in Tehran, Ryabkov also took part in a conference dedicated to cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and BRICS.
