Russia's Lavrov Expresses Hope US Will Return To Iran Nuclear Deal In Near Future

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that it was a critical moment for the new US administration to bring back Washington to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to restore the Iranian nuclear deal.

"We are approaching a critical moment. We are counting on the US administration, as the country that negotiated and concluded the JCPOA, to decide the extent to which it can return to the most important international document, which has been recognized as an achievement of multilateral diplomacy and has served as an example of the efforts that need to be made both to defuse tensions and to strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime," Lavrov said at a press conference after meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow's commitment to continue to work together in the JCPOA framework to resolve the situation around Iran's nuclear program.

Borrell, on his part, agreed that there was plenty to be done together with Russia.

"On international arena, I think the minister has made reference to all of that, there are places and issues in which we can also work together. JCPOA is a good example. middle East peace process, we agree on the need to engage in this process to reinvigorate the Quartet and to try to work together and to engage also the new US administration," the EU diplomat noted.

In 2015, Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the US and the European Union jointly signed the JCPOA, stipulating the removal of international sanctions from Tehran in exchange for it scaling down its nuclear program.

However, US then-President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the multilateral accord in 2018, reinstating sanctions on Tehran as part of a maximum pressure campaign. His successor, Joe Biden, has expressed readiness to rejoin the deal should Iran return to full compliance. Tehran responded by saying that talks with the US were not on the agenda, while the JCPOA's fate depended on Washington's actions, including the scrapping of sanctions.