MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/. Members of the ministerial meeting on Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program have confirmed that there is no viable alternative to the deal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Wednesday following the meeting on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.
"They have confirmed that there is no viable alternative to the JCPOA. It must not become a trading card for other sensitive issues. The situation calls for strict observance of the obligations undertaken by all parties involved. The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that only with this approach can we expect to get the JCPOA implementation process back on track within the previously agreed framework," the ministry stressed.
The statement underlines that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reminded European colleagues about their responsibility to preserve the nuclear deal. "Lavrov reminded European colleagues about the responsibility they bear to maintain a carefully thought out balance of interests, which the JCPOA is based on," the diplomatic agency emphasized.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also revealed that the conversation was very specific and built around the tasks common for all partners - to preserve the JCPOA and ensure its implementation "in the environment of constant attacks and challenges created primarily by anti-Iranian actions of the US." The agency also added that foreign ministers of the parties to the JCPOA confirmed their determination to keep up the focused work to implement the JCPOA.
Moreover, all parties backed the French efforts to de-escalate the situation around the deal and hope that these efforts will ensure preservation of the integrity of the agreements, allowing Tehran to return to full compliance with the JCPOA demands and take advantage of trade and economic advantages, which Iran signed the deal for. "The Russian side has repeatedly said that these measures should be acceptable for all parties to the JCPOA since the fate of the 2015 comprehensive agreements endorsed by the UN Security Council resolution is at stake," the document underlines.
"Russia has confirmed its readiness for a constructive cooperation with all partners for the sake of the common task and expressed solidarity with the call to speed up the work of the Joint Commission and its bodies," the ministry concluded.