3 yıl önce

Iran nuclear talks to restart in Vienna next week

Participants from Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran that are trying to revive a 2015 nuclear deal will resume their efforts on December 27.

Reuters

Diplomats from parties to the deal are in talks in Vienna with Iran and the US, with the two sides refusing direct contact.

European Union has said talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal will resume next Monday.

The EU diplomat chairing the negotiations, Enrique Mora, announced the news on Twitter on Thursday, urging a "picking up of the pace".

"Vienna talks to resume on Monday 27 December. The JCPOA Joint Commission will meet to discuss and define the way ahead," Mora wrote, referring to the acronym of the deal's formal name.

"Important to pick up the pace on key outstanding issues and move forward, working closely with the US. Welcome to the 8th round."

The EU's foreign service said the meeting would be attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran.

"Participants will 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," the External Action Service's statement said.

#ViennaTalks to resume on Monday 27 December. The #JCPOA Joint Commission will meet to discuss and define the way ahead. Important to pick up the pace on key outstanding issues and move forward, working closely with the US. Welcome to the 8th round.
— Enrique Mora (@enriquemora_) December 23, 2021

Eighth times the charm

Officials have said the deal would become obsolete within weeks if Iran continued to step up its nuclear activities as it has been doing since 2019.

Negotiations restarted in November after a five-month hiatus to try to restore the deal, which was to offer Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.

The talks were adjourned nearly a week ago after a round marked by tensions over new demands from Tehran.

"Usually it isn’t popular to engage in serious business b/w the Catholic Christmas and the New Year," Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's top envoy to the talks, tweeted on Thursday.

He said that “in this particular case this is an indication that all negotiators don’t want to (waste) time, and aim at speediest restoration” of the nuclear deal.

US negotiator Rob Malley on Tuesday warned of a "period of escalating crisis" if diplomacy failed to restore the agreement.

Iran claims it only wants to develop a civilian nuclear capability, but Western powers say its stockpile of enriched uranium goes well beyond that and could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.