Putin, Macron call for full implementation of JCPOA
French President Emmanuel Macron has stepped up his efforts to save the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement which is on the edge of collapse because of the US threats to withdraw from the deal.
Following his talks with the Iranian president on Sunday, President Macron called his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Monday and underlined the need for preserving the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The phone conversation was held at the initiative of the French side. Macron told Putin about the outcome of his visit to the United States with the focus on the talks devoted to the situation around the Iran nuclear deal, TASS reported.
“The presidents of Russia and France called for preserving the plan and its full implementation,” the Kremlin press service said on Monday.
During his three-day visit to the US, the French president said Paris would not leave the Iran nuclear deal.
He told the US Congress on the final day of his trip that the JCPOA was not addressing what he called “all concerns,” but stressed that the deal could not be ditched.
On Sunday, he also had a phone conversation with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.
The French president reaffirmed the importance of increasing Tehran-Paris cooperation in all areas and said the European Union and France in particular would defend the JCPOA and definitely stay in the deal. He called on Iran to also remain in the deal.
Macron further emphasized that his country sought a stable Middle East and believed that the JCPOA was an important model for solving problems in this region, Press TV wrote.
No more limitation
President Rouhani told Macron that Tehran would not accept any limitation on its nuclear program beyond commitments undertaken as per the nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries.
Rouhani further stated, “The fate of the JCPOA after 2025 will be determined by international law and Iran will not accept any limitations beyond its commitments.”
The Iranian chief executive emphasized that the JCPOA is not open to negotiation.
“The sustainability of the JCPOA will strengthen regional security and cooperation… The JCPOA is the first important basis of trust between Iran and Western countries,” Rouhani said.
He added that the US stance against the JCPOA is a blatant violation of the agreement among the seven countries, noting that Iran has made “very important decisions” in recent days about various economic issues and banking relations.
“We have planned various measures [to counter] any decision the US would make on May 12,” the Iranian president said.
He added that the current US approach to the JCPOA is a breach of the accord and is aimed at creating ambiguity for different countries and economic enterprises about enhanced cooperation with Iran.
US President Donald Trump is a stern critic of the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany. Under the agreement, nuclear-related sanctions put in place against Iran were lifted in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program.
On January 12, the US president reluctantly agreed to waive sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the landmark deal, but threatened to withdraw from the accord if some “disastrous flaws” were not fixed.
He said he wanted America’s European allies to use the 120-day period before sanctions relief again came up for renewal to agree to tougher measures and new conditions; otherwise Washington would pull out of the deal.
Iran not bluffing