JCPOA partners must solve all issues through Joint Commission: Russian diplomat

A senior Russian diplomat says Moscow's principled stance is to support the settlement of all issues pertaining to the implementation of a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the 5+1 group through the deal's Joint Commission.

According to Press TV, Mikhail Ulyanov, Permanent Representative of Russia to International Organizations in Vienna, said in a post on his official Twitter account on Saturday "The principled position of the Russian side is that all #JCPOA implementation issues must be settled within the framework of the Joint Commission." 

He called on the remaining parties to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), "not to lose these guidelines."

The international nuclear deal had been reached between Iran and the 5+1 group -- the US, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany -- in 2015. However, in May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and later re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran and began unleashing the “toughest ever” fresh sanctions.

The Russian diplomat's remarks come in the wake of a recent resolution passed by the UN nuclear agency against Iran. 

On June 19, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed the anti-Iran resolution, put forward by Britain, France and Germany.

The resolution, the first of its kind since 2012, urges Iran to provide the IAEA inspectors with access to two sites that the trio claims may have been used for undeclared nuclear activities in the early 2000s.

The Islamic Republic rejects any allegations of non-cooperation with the IAEA, insisting that it is prepared to resolve potentially outstanding differences with the UN nuclear agency.

Iran’s Permanent Representative to Vienna-based international organizations, Kazem Gharibabadi, deplored the resolution, saying the Islamic Republic would take “appropriate action” where the sponsors of the move would stand responsible for any "repercussions."

“Adoption of this resolution will neither encourage Iran to grant access to the Agency based on fabricated and unfounded allegations, nor will it force Iran to come down from its principal positions," Gharibabadi said.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova censured the European signatories to the JCPOA for putting pressure on Iran over its nuclear program in spite of claiming they remain committed to the accord, saying such problems are rooted in “destructive” measures adopted by the United States against the accord.

ME