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Agreement on restoring Iran nuke deal may be sealed in coming days — Russian envoy

According to Mikhail Ulyanov, there may be progress concerning the timeframe, since "there are estimates for several stages spanning two months, a month and a half to implement certain tasks"
Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov AP Photo/Florian Schroetter
Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov
© AP Photo/Florian Schroetter

MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/. Striking an agreement on reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal) may be achieved in the coming days, Russian Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said at an online briefing on Friday.

"My feeling is that the agreement on reviving the status quo [of the Iran nuclear deal] as of 2016 can be reached literally in the next few days," the diplomat affirmed.

Nevertheless, Ulyanov emphasized that "it is not possible to turn everything back in an instant."

"Therefore, if the agreement on renewing the JCPOA is achieved before September 1, that is, in the coming days as we would hope to do, we will actually get back to where we were only by mid-February," he noted.

According to the envoy, there may be progress concerning the timeframe, since "there are estimates for several stages spanning two months, a month and a half to implement certain tasks."

"The return has to be prepared, everything needs to be balanced. The process is not going to be quick, but the main thing is to get started," Ulyanov concluded.

On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS that the Vienna talks on resurrecting the Iran nuclear deal were nearing "the finish line." Ryabkov pointed out that not all the issues had been concluded yet, but intensive contacts were underway through various channels.

On Tuesday, Ulyanov said that a ministerial meeting of the Joint Commission of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as part of the final stage of talks on its renewal would most likely take place this week or next week. The Joint Commission is made up of Russia, the UK, Germany, China, Iran, and France. Prior to the withdrawal from the deal, the US was also a member.