Russia welcomes US' move to waive sanctions on Iran
The US decision to restore nuclear waivers is a move in the right direction, the Permanent Representative of Russia to International Organizations in Vienna says.
"It will help expedite restoration of JCPOA and mutual return of US and Iran to compliance with 2015 deal. It also can be seen as an indication that the Vienna talks have entered the final stage," Mikhail Ulyanov wrote in a tweet.
The US State Department has announced sanctions waivers on Iran's civilian nuclear program in a technical step necessary to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement, a senior official said on Friday.
"Absent this sanctions waiver, detailed technical discussions with third parties regarding disposition of stockpiles and other activities of nonproliferation value cannot take place," the official said, insisting on anonymity.
The spokesman for the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs said: "Naturally, the Islamic Republic of Iran is waiting for the United States to fulfill its duties and obligations regarding the lifting of sanctions in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)."
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said: "What the United States must do is lift all sanctions, including the nuclear issue."
He added: "The news we hear today is about some dimensions of lifting the nuclear sanctions, and everyone knows that this is not enough."
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "Naturally, any action that is in the right direction of fulfilling JCPOA's obligations will be carefully considered by Tehran."
After weeks of intensive diplomatic consultations, the eighth round of Vienna negotiations to remove the unlawful sanctions, which had been begun on December 27, 2021, entered a break on Friday, January 28, making political decisions.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday: "Real, effective and verifiable economic benefit for Iran is a necessary condition for the formation of an agreement. Show of lifting sanctions is not considered constructive."
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also said in a telephone conversation with EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell on Saturday night that positive developments had taken place in the Vienna talks, but they still did not meet Iran's expectations.
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