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US demands to change terms of Iran nuclear deal may undermine agreement - Russian diplomat

According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, Russia will "firmly adhere to the line that the JCPOA is not subject to change."

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/. The United States demonstrates a destructive approach towards the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by demanding the revision of some provisions of this agreement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Thursday, commenting on remarks by US Vice President Michael Pence that the US is working "with the Congress to arrive at a new agreement."

"Our American counterparts have questions to some aspects of the JCPOA, which provide for restrictions concerning certain elements of Iran’s nuclear program," Ryabkov noted. "However, all the terms, timeframes and frameworks that were set in the JCPOA were the result of very difficult and very lengthy negotiations."

"Therefore, taking out of the package arbitrarily only what suits the Americans and demanding amending those provisions, which, for some reasons that are unknown to us, do not suit the Americans, is a destructive approach. It can undermine the agreement reached with difficulty," he stressed.

According to Ryabkov, Russia will "firmly adhere to the line that the JCPOA is not subject to change." "Efforts should be focused on its full implementation, including the continuation of work to create normal conditions for doing business with Iran by economic operators from various countries, and this is something the US continues to hinder," he concluded.

Pence said in an interview with Voice of America on Wednesday that the US wants to "have a long-term agreement in place, a long-term legislation in place that it says that if at any time Iran attempts to obtain a usable nuclear weapon and the ballistic missiles to be able to deliver it, that all sanctions would be re-imposed immediately." He recalled that the current deal with Iran is a ten-year agreement.