France: There is Still a Long Way to Go to Revive the JCPOA
France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday, December 21, that Iran and world powers still have a considerable distance to go in reaching an agreement to revive the nuclear deal, despite recent progress in talks.
Indirect talks between Iran and the United States to save the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA resumed on Monday, December 13, in Vienna.
Western diplomats have announced that they hope to achieve success by next month at the latest, but differences over the most difficult issues remain unresolved. Iran has opposed any deadline set by the West.
Jean-Yves Le Drian told the French Parliament: “Negotiations continue. They are moving slowly, very slowly, and this slowness is creating a gap that threatens the chances of reaching a solution that benefits all parties.”
France’s foreign minister added: “Some progress was made in late December, but we still have a considerable distance to go before the end of the negotiations.”
The eighth round of nuclear talks, which is actually considered the first round during the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi, began after Iran added more demands to the draft agreement.
Meanwhile, Iran has not been willing to negotiate directly with the United States, a situation that has forced Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia to mediate between the two sides and convey their views to each other.
Little remains of the JCPOA agreement, which meant lifting sanctions against Iran in exchange for limiting its nuclear program. Former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from this agreement about three years ago and imposed heavy sanctions against Iran. Iran, in response, gradually withdrew from its commitments.
Source: Radio Farda
