All news

Diplomat: Moscow knows very little about Trump's plans for Iran nuclear deal

During his election campaign, Trump described the Obama administration’s nuclear agreement with Iran as a disgrace to the United States

UNITED NATIONS, January 17. /TASS/. Russia sees no grounds for any failure to perform the Iran nuclear deal and the statements made by representatives of the new US administration mean no "new situation" in this issue, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.

The high-ranking diplomat attended a roundtable at the United Nations headquarters devoted to the first anniversary since the start of implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a deal between Tehran and six world powers (five permanent UN Security Council member-states and Germany).

Ryabkov said during the meeting the delegations of all countries shared Russia’s stance that "there are no unsolvable and insurmountable problems in the implementation of the JCPOA." "Certainly, there were skeptical voices, especially on the part of some NGOs, but we believe that there are no prerequisites for any failures and disruptions, and the entire P5+1 group and the Iranian representatives will work further in this field," he said.

In comments to criticism of the deal voiced by US President-elect Donald Trump, Ryabkov said that so far very little is known about the "approaches of the next US administration to this issue and the foreign policy agenda in general."

Moscow is studying the public statements of Trump’s team, including those made during the US Senate hearings, he added.

"Of course, some statements especially on the prospects of the JCPOA drew our attention, but in any case I see no signs here that we are approaching any milestone or that a completely new situation will occur. Not at all, and we will stick to our well-known line in the dialogue with the new US administration and in contacts with other participants of the P5+1 group," Ryabkov said.

This line is that the JCPOA is an important and constructive agreement that has "a positive impact on the regional situation."

"This assessment remains unchanged and we will further stick to it," the diplomat stressed.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the Iranian nuclear program was reached in Vienna on July 14, 2015. This plan provides for lifting the sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program by the UN Security Council, the US and the European Union. Tehran pledged to scale back its nuclear activities in return placing them under international control.

On January 16, 2016 the United Nations, the United States and the European Union lifted their economic and financial restrictions on Iran that they had imposed over its nuclear program. The US decrees on sanctions were suspended but not canceled altogether.

During his election campaign, Trump described the Obama administration’s nuclear agreement with Iran as a disgrace to the United States. He vowed to achieve its revision, should he be elected president.