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Iranian nuclear deal parties back return to its full implementation - Russian ministry

The ministry also informed that the meeting participants conducted a detailed analysis of the state of affairs in implementation of the 2015 agreements considering the current challenges

MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. Participants of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program on Wednesday supported the return to its implementation in the initially agreed framework, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Representatives of the party states reaffirmed commitment to the JCPOA obligations and the UNSC Resolution 2231 and backed continuing an intensive search for effective solutions facilitating quick return to implementation of the comprehensive agreements in the initially agreed frameworks," the diplomatic agency noted.

The ministry also informed that the meeting participants conducted a detailed analysis of the state of affairs in implementation of the 2015 agreements considering the current challenges. The US actions aimed at "creating obstacles to full implementation of the nuclear deal" remain the biggest challenges, the Russian agency pointed out.

Moreover, the meeting participants discussed issues of preparing for the JCPOA ministerial meeting scheduled for December 21.

Earlier on Wednesday, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova informed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the informal meeting of the JCPOA party foreign ministers on December 21.

The JCPOA was signed between Iran, five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (Russia, the United Kingdom, China, the United States and France) and Germany in 2015. The deal limited Iran’s nuclear development in exchange for lifting the UN sanctions, as well as the US and EU unilateral restrictions.

On May 8, 2018, the issue of the nuclear deal exacerbated dramatically after US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the JCPOA and introduction of sanctions against Iran’s oil sector. On May 8, 2019, President of Iran Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran was suspending the fulfilment of its part of the nuclear deal obligations. According to the Iranian side, the parties to the deal, particularly the Europeans, are not fully honoring their economic obligations and, therefore, the JCPOA in its current form is meaningless.

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