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Russia hopes for early resumption of Iranian nuclear deal talks — Foreign Ministry

Maria Zakharova noted that all parties concerned are focused on faster coordination of a procedure for breathing a new life into the JCPOA

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Moscow sees the fundamental determination of parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Iranian nuclear program to devise the means to breathe new life into this agreement, and hopes another round of Vienna talks on restoring the deal will begin in the near future, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"We have taken note of the fact that all parties concerned are focused on faster coordination of a procedure for breathing a new life into the JCPOA. We hope that another round may take place in the near future," she said.

Zakharova believes that all previous achievements will serve "as a point of departure and a reliable basis for coming close to agreements", which Moscow hopes "will materialize in the foreseeable future."

"We presume that the shortest way to relaunching the JCPOA to full capacity - and we hope that it will happen this way - lies through strict compliance with its provisions by all sides based on the originally verified balance of interests without any exemptions or additions," Zakharova stated.

She refrained from speculating as to how long and frequent the future rounds of negotiations might be.

"Making such forecasts is not a very rewarding task. There is a great amount of work to be handled. It must be focused on bringing approaches closer," Zakharova added.

Vienna talks

Negotiations have been underway in Vienna since April by Iran and the international quintet (Russia, Britain, Germany, China and France) on restoring the Iranian nuclear deal to its original form. The sides have been discussing the issue of canceling US sanctions against Iran, Tehran's compliance with its commitments in the nuclear sphere and the United States' return to the JCPOA.

Representatives from the countries that are parties to the agreement have also been holding separate consultations with US emissaries without Iran’s participation. Originally the delegates had hoped to be through with this work by the end of May, and then at the beginning of June. On September 21, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the talks on restoring the nuclear deal to the full extent would begin in Vienna within a few weeks.