IRAN’S FM AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN ARRIVES IN MOSCOW TO DISCUSS NUCLEAR TALKS, UKRAINE CRISIS

Tue 15 March 2022:

Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has arrived in Moscow to hold talks with Russian officials, on Iran’s nuclear issue and the Ukraine crisis.

vrov expressing support for reviving the Iran nuclear deal.

At the start of talks on Tuesday Amir-Abdollahian expressed hopes his visit would lead to Russian support for a “good, stable and strong nuclear deal,” Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Iranian counterpart that agreement on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal known as JCPOA, was in the finishing straight.

Amir-Abdollahian’s visit was announced on Monday, days after negotiation in Vienna came to a halt after Russia made a last-minute demand. On March 5, Lavrov said that along with an agreement in Vienna Moscow should get written guarantees from Washington that sanctions imposed for the invasion fo Ukraine will not impact its relations with Tehran.

The United States and Europe have rejected the Russian demand, saying that a nuclear agreement with Iran is not related to the Ukraine crisis.

The official IRNA news website quoted the foreign minister as saying that he will also discuss the Ukraine crisis with Russian officials. On Monday, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that he has spoken with his Iranian counterpart and asked him to pass on a message to Moscow: “Russia must stop bombing civilians, commit to the ceasefire, and with draw from Ukraine.”

The eighth round of marathon talks in the Austrian capital was suspended on Friday, which the European Union’s Foreign Policy chief, Josep Borrell, attributed to “external factors.”

The pause came at a time when the talks had entered the final stretch and the parties were set to finalise the deal after almost 11 months of hectic deliberations.

Many believe Russia’s fresh demands from the US have complicated the process and forced the negotiators to temporarily head back to their respective capitals.

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, earlier this month asked for a “written guarantee” from the US that sanctions over Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine would not affect its trade cooperation with Iran.

Khatibzadeh said Russia’s demand for a written guarantee from the US must be discussed in the joint commission of the JCPOA, also known as Iran nuclear deal.

He said, from day one, all JCPOA signatories have presented their respective demands to the joint commission, some of which were accepted, some rejected and some amended.

Giving a benefit of doubt to the Vladimir Putin government, he said Russia has committed not to obstruct a good agreement in Vienna, while commending the stance of Moscow and Beijing in the Vienna talks as “constructive”.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, a Tehran-based political analyst, Alireza Davar, said the timing of Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to Moscow suggests that Tehran has taken Russia’s demands “with a bit of seriousness”.

“Tehran worked hard since last November to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal and to have Trump-era sanctions lifted,” he said. “Now, Russia’s demands have suddenly disrupted the momentum near the finish line.”

He said Iran does not wish to antagonise Russia by publicly blaming it for the “untimely interval” in the talks, which is why the Foreign Minister has planned a visit to Moscow “to ensure Iran’s interests are not hurt”.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry had last week asked for clarification from Moscow over Lavrov’s remarks.

“It is clear that the Vienna talks are moving in the right direction,” Khatibzadeh said last Monday. “Iran’s peaceful nuclear cooperation should not be limited or affected by any sanctions, including Iran’s cooperation with China, Russia and other countries.”

US decision

In his remarks on Monday, Khatibzadeh said the parties were still not at a point to clinch a deal, citing remaining issues between Iran and the US that need to be ironed out.

He blamed the delay in finalising the deal on Washington, saying the Joe Biden administration needs to take “political decisions” before the talks resume.

As soon as we hear their decision, we will be able to return to Vienna and reach a final agreement

Khatibzadeh said.

“What happened in Vienna is a short-term success and a break at the request of the coordinator of the JCPOA joint commission,” Khatibzadeh noted.

The spokesman said consultations between Iran and the remaining parties continue at various levels.

In a separate statement on Monday, Iran’s top security official, Ali Shamkhani, said Tehran will remain in the Vienna talks until an agreement “that meets all our legal and logical demands” is reached.

Tensions

The latest break in the Vienna nuclear talks came amidst a simmering crisis in Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s war and an attack in Iraq’s northern city of Erbil on Saturday, which was claimed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

While Russia’s demands from the US have complicated the progress and possible outcome in the 11-month long talks, the strike in Erbil has again heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Iran said the missiles targeted an Israeli “strategic centre” in Erbil, as a revenge for the killing of two IRGC members in Syria last week.

The attack took place near an American military facility in Erbil, according to reports, giving rise to speculations that it could have been a possible target.

Khatibzadeh said Tehran had warned Iraqi authorities in the past against allowing its territory to be used by third parties against Iran.

Sadiq Ghorbani, a regional affairs analyst, told Anadolu Agency that developments in Ukraine and Erbil are “definitely going to affect the talks in Vienna”.

“Russia’s showdown with the West over Ukraine and demands from the US on one hand, and heightened tensions between Iran and the US over Erbil attack, on the other hand, threaten to put the talks on the back burner again,” he said. “The delay can be indefinite”.

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