BRUSSELS, April 25. /TASS/. The European Union and the United States are not authorized to amend the nuclear deal with Iran, and no one can talk on behalf of a group of six international mediators (Russia, China, the US, France, the UK and Germany), Russia’s Permanent Representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said on Wednesday upon his arrival at the international donor conference on Syria in Brussels.
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"If the European trio reaches an agreement with the Americans on something, neither our Chinese counterparts nor we have anything to do with that. Everyone signed the agreement, and no one has authorized the European trio to talk on behalf of a group of six nations," the Russian diplomat said commenting on reports about closed-door consultations between EU member-states and the US on amending the Iran nuclear deal. "I believe it is premature now to say who struck a deal with whom. Judging by reports from Washington on the French president’s visit, so far they have been talking about somewhat different things."
EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini reiterated her stance upon arriving at the conference on Syria that the Iranian nuclear deal must be preserved. She noted that there is only one deal with Iran, the one regarding Tehran’s nuke program, which is in effect and should be preserved.
French President Emmanuel Macron earlier told reporters at a joint news conference with his US counterpart Donald Trump that Paris is ready to work together with Washington on a new agreement regarding Tehran’s nuclear program. According to Macron, it is necessary to tackle four issues: blocking the nuclear program until 2025, providing a solution for the long term, halting Iran’s ballistic missile program and promoting stability in the region.
The deal on Iran’s nuclear program, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was reached between Iran and six international mediators (Russia, the UK, China, the US, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015. In January 2016, the parties to the deal announced the launch of its implementation. Under the deal, Iran undertook efforts to curb its nuclear activities and place them under the total control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange for lifting the sanctions that were imposed previously by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program.
Trump has stated on numerous occasions that the Iran nuclear deal is flawed arguing that it did not prevent the creation of nuclear weapons by Iran but only postponed it. On January 12, 2018, he said Washington would withdraw from the agreement if it were not amended.