Russia's demands to the United States could hamper nuclear talks: Iranian officials
Tehran - Russia has demanded a written assurance from the United States that sanctions imposed on Moscow would not harm Russia's cooperation with Iran. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Saturday that Russia's demand was "not constructive" during talks between Tehran and world powers to renew the 2015 nuclear deal.
Tehran says it has agreed to develop a roadmap with the UN nuclear watchdog to resolve unresolved issues in the talks, which could help secure the nuclear deal. Russia's announcement could soon lead to months of intense indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna.
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has demanded a written guarantee from the United States that Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its conflict with Ukraine would not harm its cooperation with Iran. He warned the West that Russia's national interests must be taken into account.
Lavrov said the sanctions imposed on Russia because of the conflict in Ukraine created a "problem" from Moscow's point of view. Asked if Russia's claim would harm 11 months of talks between world powers, including Tehran and Russia, Ali Waiz, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, said: "Not yet. But it is impossible to separate the two crises in the long run."
All parties to the Vienna talks on Friday said they were close to an agreement. Iran's nuclear chief Mohammad Islami told a joint news conference with Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, that "we have agreed to provide the IAEA with the documents related to the unresolved issues between Tehran and the IAEA by the end of the month [June 21]."
Since 2019, Tehran has gone beyond the nuclear limits of the treaty, rebuilding its stockpile of refined uranium, refining its nuclear program to a higher fissile purity, and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output. But Iran has denied that it has ever sought nuclear weapons.
No comments