Russia: Text of JCPOA revival deal ‘almost completely agreed’

In an interview with the Russian Izvestia Daily, Mikhail Ulyanov talked about the latest status of the talks in the Austrian capital between Tehran and the five other parties to the nuclear deal plus the US, which is joining the process indirectly.

“In principle, we can assume that the text has been agreed almost completely. The Iranian side had separate questions regarding just a few words, a few lines. Everything else is considered agreed,” he said.

“There will most likely be no lengthy negotiations in the foreseeable future. It all depends on whether all the states participating in the negotiations, including Iran in the first place, agree to the version of the package solution that was circulated on August 8,” he said.

Another option, he said, could be for Iranians some amendments to the text, which the Europeans and the US consider final.

“But, as always, the devil is in the details, and the last few lines theoretically — we already went through this during the Vienna negotiations — could become a stumbling block. I hope this doesn’t happen,” Ulyanov added.

The official rejected claims that Russia was against the restoration of the Iran nuclear deal.
A final deal, he argued, would both decrease tensions in the Persian Gulf and lift unilateral sanctions against Iran, adding, “Where is the negative for us? I don’t know.”

“Russia does not like illegitimate extraterritorial sanctions. We consider this an outrage and illegal action. We sympathize with the people of Iran, who have been under sanctions for so many years,” he said.