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Russia to promote initiatives aimed at overcoming nuclear deal crisis, says Lavrov

The foreign minister underscored that the initiatives must be acceptable to all the parties to the JCPOA

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. Russia will be promoting initiatives aimed at overcoming the crisis centering around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). However, they should be acceptable to all parties to the deal, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.

"Regarding the initiatives to overcome the crisis around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program put forward by the French leadership, there was a detailed conversation between Presidents [Emmanuel] Macron [of France] and [Vladimir] Putin [of Russia] at Fort de Bregancon a week ago at an extraordinary Russian-French summit. President Putin supported President Macron’s proposal aimed at restoring the viability of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and all the agreements enshrined in it," he said.

"As for specific steps in that direction, I will not elaborate on them. This is still a negotiation process, the process of trust-based consultations. Such steps will certainly be successful, if they are acceptable to all the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, including the Islamic Republic of Iran. We will be ready to help achieve such a result," Russia’s top diplomat concluded.

On Saturday, Bloomberg reported citing its own source that Macron had outlined his proposal regarding Iran’s return to compliance with its obligations under the JCPOA at a meeting with US President Donald Trump. According to the French leader, Tehran should be allowed to sell certain volumes of oil in return for a number of liabilities. Specifically, Iran will have to abide by the JCPOA, look for ways of reducing tensions in the Persian Gulf and return to constructive negotiations on developing missiles and regional issues. Bloomberg noted that Macron had also discussed the proposal with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during their meeting in Paris.