US Says It Will Pursue Alternative Solutions if Russia Does Not Withdraw Its JCPOA Demands
A senior US government official told The Wall Street Journal that the United States will not negotiate with Russia over its recent demands and if Russia insists on its request by next week and does not withdraw it, America will pursue alternative solutions including a temporary agreement with Tehran.
The unnamed government official described Russia’s demand as beyond the scope of the JCPOA and said a temporary agreement with Iran could include lifting sanctions in exchange for halting some of Iran’s nuclear activities. The Iranian government has repeatedly rejected the idea of a temporary agreement in recent months.
Russia has recently asked the United States to provide written guarantees that after the revival of the JCPOA, Western sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine will not affect Moscow and Tehran’s economic and military cooperation.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative in nuclear negotiations, defending his country’s condition, said the goal of the JCPOA is for Iran to have normal economic relations with the world, including Russia, and therefore if an agreement is reached, Moscow’s trade relations with Tehran should be exempt from current and future sanctions by the European Union and the United States.
The US government had previously responded to this demand by saying that American sanctions against Russia have no connection to the JCPOA.
The Wall Street Journal also reported, citing a senior US government official, that Russia’s demand is the “most serious obstacle” in the path to reaching an agreement to revive the JCPOA.
European countries participating in JCPOA negotiations, including Germany, Britain, and France, also warned over the past two days that Russia’s insistence on its new condition amounts to “holding the JCPOA hostage” and could destroy the revival of the nuclear agreement.
Two days ago, the French news agency also reported, quoting a Western diplomat, that if Russia’s firm decision to block the revival of the JCPOA becomes clear, “we have a duty to examine other options and will not allow Russia to take the JCPOA hostage.”
Iranian government officials have repeatedly attributed the failure of negotiations in recent days to “US government opposition” to some of Iran’s demands, including those related to the scope of sanctions and ensuring that Washington does not withdraw from the JCPOA again, while confirming that Russia has also raised a new demand.
In the latest response, Said Khatibzadeh, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Saturday, referring to Russia’s condition during JCPOA revival negotiations, that this demand was “new” and “any country can raise a demand.” He added that “all these demands are being reviewed in the Joint Commission in Vienna.”
The eighth round of JCPOA revival negotiations in Vienna, attended by Iran, JCPOA member states, and with indirect US participation, was suspended after Russia announced its new condition.
After the suspension was announced, Enrique Mora, the European coordinator of negotiations, emphasized that there is not much distance from a final agreement and expressed hope that negotiations would resume “very soon.”
He did not specify a time for resuming negotiations. Said Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, also said that returning to negotiations “requires preparations and it is unclear when we will return to the negotiations.”
Source: Radio Farda
