Russia and the United States plan to continue cooperation “in the Vienna format” with the involvement of all the countries participating in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), including Iran, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It is stated that on September 8-9, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, held consultations with the US Special Representative for Iran, Robert Malley, in Moscow, where the Rosatom Deputy Director-General, Nikolai Spassky, and the US Deputy Energy Minister, David G. Huizenga, also took part.
During the exchange of views on the prospects for restoring the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Settlement of the Iranian nuclear programme, both sides confirmed their firm determination to continue cooperation “in the Vienna format” with the involvement of all the JCPOA member countries, including Iran, as well as representatives of the United States.
The Ministry stressed that Tehran’s readiness to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible plays an important role. Besides, there is a need to build further work on the basis of the results of the previous negotiation rounds, which continued in an intensive mode from April to June of this year.
In addition, Ryabkov noted that Moscow has some concerns about the current state of Iran’s nuclear programme, saying that Tehran was moving away from the JCPOA signed by Iran, Russia, China, France, Germany, the UK, the EU, and the US in 2015, RT reports.
“We are definitely concerned about the rapid progress that is being observed in Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The situation is getting more complicated because Tehran is moving further and further from the initial terms of the agreement,” Ryabkov said.
However, he also noticed that Iran has remained transparent and the current trend is reversible if parties to the agreement “return to the negotiations and continue to develop compromise solutions”.
Ru-Main, 09.09.2021
