'Big question mark' around West's commitment to revive JCPOA: Ulyanov

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Feb 2023 09:18

Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov suggests that the West has a hidden agenda regarding reviving the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.

A photo during a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, April 6, 2021 (Reuters)

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, questioned the West's commitment to reviving the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, formerly known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"No doubt that China is committed to the JCPOA," Ulyanov tweeted commenting on Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi who is in Beijing for a state visit.

"No matter how the international and regional situation changes, China will unswervingly develop friendly cooperation with Iran. China will continue to constructively participate in the negotiations on the resumption of the implementation of the JCPOA," Xi on Tuesday said in a statement carried by Chinese state TV on its website.

No doubt that #China is committed to the #JCPOA. The question is to what extent the #US and #E3 are committed to revitalisation of the nuclear deal and maintaining nuclear non- proliferation.This is a big question mark as of today. Looks like they have a hidden agenda. https://t.co/XuwAaOioLs
— Mikhail Ulyanov (@Amb_Ulyanov) February 14, 2023

"The question is to what extent the US and E3 are committed to revitalization of the nuclear deal and maintaining nuclear non-proliferation. This is a big question mark as of today. Looks like they have a hidden agenda," Ulyanov pointed out.

In early February, the Russian diplomat said the negotiations have reached a dead end, but a chance for progress is still available.

Ulyanov told Sputnik that "the current situation around the JCPOA, unfortunately, can be characterized as a dead end. Since the beginning of September, there have been no more or less serious diplomatic negotiations. However, it would definitely be premature to say that the JCPOA is dead."

"Iran has the political will to complete the process. The same can be said about us and about China. But Western participants do not have such political will at this stage," he said.

On February 6, the European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, considered that the nuclear agreement is the only way to "avoid Iran becoming nuclear."

Borrell, who is leading the negotiations with Tehran on behalf of the involved western countries, told The Wall Street Journal during a train trip from Kiev back to the EU, that people opposing his efforts to revive the deal probably "don’t value enough" the dangers of Iran becoming a nuclear country.

"As far as I know, there is not an alternative to this deal to try to avoid Iran becoming nuclear," he said.

This comes after Washington, on several occasions, announced that the nuclear deal is not on its agenda.

Last month, Borell warned that in case the EU designated the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) as a "terrorist" organization, this would lead to the collapse of nuclear talks.

It is noteworthy that the original JCPOA was signed in 2015 by China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, the UK, and the US, as well as the European Union. However, the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under the Trump administration, causing Iran to suspend the deal.

On-off talks to revive the JCPOA started in April last year, but the indirect talks between the US and Iran have stalled for several months with Iran facing Western-led riots.

Since the beginning of talks, Tehran has been calling for guarantees that the US will not withdraw from the deal, lifting unlawful sanctions on Iran, and closing the file of political allegations made by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).