MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. Russia sees no signs that other signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program are seeking to revise it, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta published on Tuesday.
"As of today, I see no signs that any of the JCPOA signatories is seeking to revise the deal or insisting on any alternative approaches to it," he said.
"Quite a different thing is that, for instance, our French colleagues are advancing ideas about the so-called broader talks with Iran," he went on to say. "So far, we don’t clearly understand what they mean, since talks are already underway on the key problems, such as the extension of some restrictions for Iran under the JCPOA, Iran’s regional policy and its missile program."
"As for the efforts to keep the JCPOA in place, I see no gaps between its signatories," Ryabkov stressed. "They have absolutely identical views and are ready to work together. It is important that the European External Action Service, which traditionally acts as a coordinator of this negotiating process, has the same approach."
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, was signed between Iran and six international mediators (the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and France) on July 14, 2015. On January 16, 2016, the parties to the deal announced beginning of its implementation. Under the deal, Iran undertakes to curb its nuclear activities and place them under total control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange of abandonment of the sanctions imposed previously by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s decision to withdraw from the deal, saying it leaves Iran a possibility to create a nuclear bomb bypassing all the restrictions. He warned the United States would reinstate its old anti-Iranian sanctions and would imposed new ones. The first round of sanctions covering Iran’s automotive sector and trade in gold and metals was re-imposed overnight to August 7. Further sanctions are to come into effect from November 4 in a bid to reduce Iran’s oil revenues to zero.
Meanwhile, other signatories to the deal - Russia, China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom - have condemned the United States’ move and reiterated their commitment to the JCPOA. The European Union has activated its Blocking Regulation to protect its companies from the effects of the US extra-territorial sanction against Iran.