Europe’s position in Vienna talks is surprising: Ulyanov

Russia’s representative in the Vienna talks says that the European parties' positions in the talks are surprising as if they are sitting at the negotiating table for the first time.

In an interview with 'Pars Today Russian', Mikhail Ulyanov stated that the new Iranian team's seriousness in the negotiations is high and has quickly adapted to the situation and gained more skills in matters.

He said the positions of European countries in the Vienna talks were surprising as if they were sitting at the negotiating table for the first time and taking some irrational positions; however, the negotiation process is normal and will most likely lead to a positive outcome.

Ulyanov said it was important for Russia and all parties to the talks not to go beyond the framework of the 2015 initial deal, adding: "We are against the JCPOA+ and we are talking only about returning to the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)."

He said the negotiation process is in full swing and bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral, formal and informal meetings are underway round the clock.

The only party that is not consulted is the American side, and the reason is apparent: The Iranian side believes that the Americans made a mistake when they left the JCPOA; as a result, they have no direct or consultative contact with the American team on the agenda.

As for guarantees that the United States will not withdraw from the re-agreement, Ulyanov said: "There are serious obstacles beyond our control."

"The best solution for a final agreement is to be passed in participating countries' parliaments, but in the case of the United States, this is unlikely to be easy, as there is no vote in Congress or Senate in favor of approving such an agreement. So it can be said that here we can talk about political agreements as before, and in this case, we must say that the US administration can only speak for itself, not the entire US government structure, and cannot predict the future realities; and this is a very unfortunate fact for us," he explained.

According to Ulyanov, the only guarantee in this matter can only be the common sense of all parties because they saw where the maximum pressure policy led in the United States. This policy, even in the interests of the United States, turned out to be wholly unconstructive and did nothing but increase the suffering of the Iranian people, and the only result was problems and humanitarian crises; it did not achieve any positive results even for the benefit of the United States. But it seems that the current US administration is trying to take a series of steps forward, and this issue is under consideration.

Regarding the compensation of the extensive financial damages that were inflicted on the Iranian people and government by former US President, Donald Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA and the application of maximum pressure policy, Ulyanov underlined that the compensation of these damages is quite reasonable; Iran adhered to its commitments even for a year after US' withdrawal, and the real compensation for these losses could be in expanding Iran's economic and financial relations with other countries. He also highlighted that it is unlikely that any party will be willing to pay compensation to Iran.

Explaining about Europe's smearing campaign against Iran, Ulyanov highlighted: "In a meeting of Russian representatives with China and US representative Robert Malley, I made it clear that we do not really understand what the Europeans are saying; hence, we cannot participate in or support such a position because it is destructive. We have a different idea of negotiation and diplomacy. Europeans approach this issue from a different position, which in our view is completely unconstructive."

According to Ulyanov, despite disagreements on various issues, there is a consensus on reviving the JCPOA, and this could be a basis for relative optimism.

Courtesy: Iran Press

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