France warns Russia about 'blackmail' in JCPOA negotiations

The French government warned Russia not to resort to "blackmail" in negotiations to revive the JCPOA.

France's warning is a response to the Russian Foreign Minister's remarks on March 4, when he asked the United States to guarantee that Western sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine would not include economic relations between Russia and Iran.

The Iranian government has also announced that it will not allow other parties to the JCPOA negotiations to prevent the country from achieving its interests.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the country “will not allow any foreign country to question the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The Iranian Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that it was waiting to receive an explanation from Russia through “diplomatic channels.”

A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Russia's move was unconstructive.

"All countries must deal with each of these issues individually. Otherwise it will be blackmail, not diplomacy," a spokesman for the French presidency told Reuters on Sunday evening.

The official from the French presidential office urged Russia not to forget the main goal of the JCPOA negotiations, which is Iran's return to implementing all of its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

A European diplomat said: "Russia really intends to pursue this issue, and the Iranians, although they don't say it publicly, are unhappy with Russia's approach."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also opposed creating any new obstacles in the JCPOA negotiations on Sunday, saying that Western and US sanctions against Russia have nothing to do with the Iran nuclear deal.

In recent days, all countries participating in the negotiations to revive the JCPOA have expressed optimism about the progress of the talks, and Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said on Friday: "There is a possibility of reaching a final agreement in the next few days."

Western diplomats say all signatories to the JCPOA want to avoid a nuclear crisis. If Russia's goal in seeking assurances from the United States is only related to the nuclear deal with Iran, the request is debatable, but anything beyond that would be problematic.

However, Western diplomats note that there are still several key differences between Iran and the United States, one of which is the extent of Washington's lifting of sanctions against Iran.

Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, indirectly called on the United States to make its own political decision on Monday.

"The Iranian negotiating team's priority remains resolving the remaining differences, which are considered red lines. Achieving a strong agreement quickly requires new steps from all parties," he said.

Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of the Russian negotiating team in the JCPOA talks, said on Monday, in response to reporters' questions about Moscow's new position: "We are not going to discuss this issue with the media at this time."

According to three diplomats, the negotiating teams of European countries have returned to their capitals for consultations and believe that progress in the next steps is up to Iran and the United States.

Some experts believe that the reason Moscow is concerned about the impact of Western sanctions on its relations with Iran is the recent agreement between Ebrahim Raisi's government and Moscow aimed at expanding strategic cooperation between the two countries.

Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader and main decision-maker in the Islamic Republic of Iran, wants to strengthen Iran's relations with Russia and China due to distrust of the United States.

Source: Radio Farda