German Foreign Minister: Iran has already squandered a lot of trust

In a meeting with her American counterpart, Germany's new Foreign Minister, Annalena Berbock, said that Iran has squandered a lot of trust so far during the nuclear talks. She emphasized that the negotiations have entered a decisive phase.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, who traveled to Washington to meet and negotiate with her American counterpart, Antony Blinken, and some other officials from the country, participated in a joint press conference with the head of American diplomacy on Wednesday, January 5.

At the press conference, he emphasized the "common goals of the United States and Germany regarding Iran and the efforts to revive the nuclear agreement with this country," saying that Berlin and Washington "are following a common path as far as Iran is concerned, and we are entering a decisive phase in this regard."

According to Western officials, the Vienna talks will enter a critical and final phase in the next two weeks.

Burbock's first trip to the United States, which was supposed to last three and a half days, was limited to a few hours due to the severe outbreak of Omicron in the country and the weather conditions, and a trip to New York was also removed from the trip. During the hours he was in Washington, he was only able to meet and talk with Blinken and Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

In the negotiations with Blinken, in addition to the JCPOA negotiations in Vienna, the Ukraine crisis and Russia's threats against the country were also the focus of the discussions.

The European Union has been concerned in recent days that the ongoing US-NATO disengagement from talks with Russia could lead to the EU being sidelined from Ukraine-related interactions and its role in the crisis becoming marginalized. Coordination between the US and Europe on negotiations with Russia in the coming days formed part of the discussions between Burbuck and Blinken.

In connection with resolving the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, US and Russian officials are scheduled to meet in Geneva on January 10th and 11th (January 20th and 21st). A meeting of the NATO-Russia Council and a summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are also scheduled for later in the day.

Not-so-similar assessments of the Vienna negotiations process

Negotiations on the revival of the JCPOA are scheduled to continue in Vienna today, Thursday, January 6th.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price also said on Tuesday, at the first press conference of the new year 2022, that if the parties do not reach an understanding soon in the Vienna talks, Iran's actions will accelerate and the opportunity to continue the talks will be lost.

He also stated that "the Vienna talks have made little progress, and the United States hopes that this progress will expand this week."

Apparently, Iran's abandonment of its insistence on abandoning the agreements of the six rounds of negotiations during the Hassan Rouhani government, as well as its flexibility regarding the extent and quality of sanctions relief, are some of the progress that Price has pointed out.

The Western countries of the 4+1 group, which are negotiating directly with Iran, and the United States, which is indirectly involved in these negotiations, have also emphasized the need to include, in addition to discussing Iran's demands for the lifting of sanctions, the issue of the extent to which the country will return to its JCPOA commitments and roll back the progress it has made in storing enriched uranium and building advanced centrifuges.

Price has made it clear that "until everything is agreed upon, nothing is really agreed upon."

Iran and Russia have a more optimistic assessment of the Vienna talks. According to IRNA, the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, Ali Bagheri, the head of the Iranian delegation to the Vienna talks, said in his latest assessment of the talks that they are positive and moving forward. Speaking to reporters in Vienna on Wednesday night, he announced “continuation of efforts to reach a final agreement.”

According to Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's chief negotiator, the Vienna talks are ongoing and ongoing between the negotiating teams, and "progress in the negotiations is evident." He rejected the idea of ​​a deadline for diplomatic engagements and negotiations, saying that "the negotiations must be pursued purposefully to reach a final agreement."

Source: DW