JCPOA negotiators to resume talks in Vienna on Tuesday: EU

The file photo shows cameras standing outside Palais Coburg, the site of the JCPOA revival talks, in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by Reuters)

Senior representatives of Iran and the P4+1 group of countries will resume talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Tuesday to secure the revival of the US-abandoned 2015 landmark deal after a short pause, the European Union says.

Envoys from Iran and the five remaining signatories to the deal -- Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany--have been holding negotiations in the Austrian capital for 10 months with the aim of reviving the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), through bringing the US into full compliance.

The eighth round of the talks has been put on pause as diplomats returned to their capitals for consultations.

"Following a short break, the 8th round of negotiations in Vienna in the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will resume tomorrow, on Tuesday 8 February," the European Union External Action Service said in a press release on Monday.

It added that the delegates would continue the discussions on the "prospect of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides."

Spirit of compromise needed to take sides back to full JCPOA implementation: EU

Enrique Mora, the European Union’s deputy foreign policy chief and head of the JCPOA Joint Commission, also in a tweet confirmed the date for the resumption of Iran-P4+1 talks in Vienna, stressing the need for the "spirit of compromise" to take the sides back to full implementation of the JCPOA.

"In view of different undesirable trends undermining the JCPOA, there is a need to swiftly conclude these negotiations," Mora tweeted.

Negotiations require all sides' determination to get to destination point: Russian diplomat

Head of the Russian negotiating team Mikhail Ulyanov stressed the need for all sides' determination and energetic efforts in order to get to the destination point.

"Negotiations seem to be at the final stage which requires determination and energetic efforts from all participants to get to the destination point, i.e. full restoration of #JCPOA, including #sanctions lifting," the senior Russian diplomat tweeted.

Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that the deal had lifted. He also placed additional sanctions on Iran under other pretexts not related to the nuclear case as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign.

In May 2019, following a year of strategic patience, Iran decided to let go of some of the restrictions on its nuclear energy program, resorting to its legal rights under the JCPOA, which grants a party the right to suspend its contractual commitments in case of a non-performance by the other side.

The US administration of President Joe Biden says it is willing to compensate for Trump’s mistake and rejoin the deal, but it has retained the sanctions as leverage.

In a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart, Pekka Haavisto, in Tehran on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said despite the advances made in the ongoing sanctions removal negotiations in the Austrian capital, part of the Islamic Republic’s demands have not been taken into account yet.

Asked about the latest developments regarding the negotiations in Vienna, Amir-Abdollahian said, “According to the latest texts of the Vienna talks, parts of our demands with regard to the removal of sanctions have not been addressed yet.”


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku