France, Britain and Germany warned Russia today that their demands to secure its trade with Iran would cause the collapse of a near-complete nuclear deal.
Negotiators have reached the final stage of talks to reinstate the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
But on March 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov unexpectedly demanded comprehensive guarantees that Russia’s trade with Iran would not be affected by the sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
“No one should try to take advantage of the JCPOA negotiations to obtain separate assurances from the JCPOA,” France, Britain and Germany, which are parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, said in a joint statement.
In the statement, it was said, “This situation risks collapsing the agreement,” and it was noted that the agreement should be concluded very urgently in the negotiations.
Washington had previously announced that it would not accept Russia’s demands in this regard.
The 11-month-long international talks aim to rejoin the agreement with which the United States withdrew under former President Donald Trump in 2018, and return Iran to the agreement’s restrictions on its rapidly advancing nuclear activities.
Oil markets are closely watching the progress of the talks to see if restrictions on Iran’s crude oil exports can be lifted. Lifting restrictions could help offset supply disruptions from Russia’s war in Ukraine.