Moscow. November 6th. INTERFAX - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian discussed the situation around the JCPOA and the prospects for resuming the negotiation process in Vienna by phone on Saturday.
"The parties called for the restoration of the "nuclear deal" in its original balanced configuration, approved by the UN Security Council. We have confirmed that this is the only right way to ensure the rights and interests of all participants in comprehensive agreements," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
In addition, the Ministers touched upon the upcoming visit of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran, and also discussed a number of topical issues on the bilateral and regional agenda, including the situation in and around Afghanistan and the situation in the South Caucasus.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the conversation took place on the initiative of the Iranian side.
Earlier on Saturday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax that negotiations on the JCPOA should be continued from the point where they stopped. "The resumption of negotiations is good. But there are certain questions regarding - and where is the departure point? From what point will we move on? Russia's position is that it is necessary to continue exactly from the place where the negotiations stopped in June. But whether it will work out is an open topic," he said.
According to the Deputy Minister, "there are certain stories in the relationship between the IAEA secretariat and Iranian representatives." "So we are engaged, among other things, in helping to find constructive solutions to such issues. It all takes time," Ryabkov said.
In 2015, Iran and the "six" countries - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany - concluded a nuclear agreement - the joint comprehensive plan of action on the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), according to which the republic should allow IAEA inspectors to its nuclear facilities in exchange for a step-by-step lifting of sanctions. Former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and resumed anti-Iranian sanctions, which prompted Tehran to gradually abandon compliance with some of the terms of the deal.
From April to June of this year, Iran and a number of world powers held six rounds of talks in Vienna with the aim of restoring the JCPOA. Currently, negotiations are on pause: Iranian officials have stated that Tehran will be ready to continue negotiations after the inauguration of the new Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in early August and the formation of a new government. At the inauguration ceremony on August 5, Raisi said that Tehran is ready for negotiations and will support diplomatic initiatives provided the US lifts anti-Iranian sanctions.
