VIENNA, December 9. /TASS/. Participants in a meeting of the Joint Commission of Iran and the five international mediators (Russia, the UK, Germany, China and France) on restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program managed to address a number of misunderstandings that had created tensions, Russia’s Permanent Envoy to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told reporters on Thursday.
"Everyone reaffirmed their determination to work productively [to restore the Iran nuclear deal]," he pointed out. According to Ulyanov, the negotiators confirmed that their further activities would be based on the documents that had been developed before a break in June 2021.
Two working groups, which will deal with the lifting of sanctions and nuclear issues, will try to harmonize the positions of the parties starting on Friday. "The third group on the implementation of the future agreement apparently won’t be engaged in the process until the first two issues are cleared up," the Russian envoy said. "The main thing is that the process is underway and is apparently even gaining pace. Everyone realizes that the talks cannot go on forever. There is still time but there is not much time left because the JCPOA is in a deplorable state," Ulyanov concluded.
The seventh round of talks on the Iran nuclear deal and the lifting of US sanctions resumed on December 9. The US delegation is not involved in direct talks with Iran and the Joint Commission’s meetings but it is usually present in Vienna for separate consultations with other parties to the deal.