China stands with Iran on nuclear deal after talks paused amid Russia’s conflict with West
- Wang Yi says Beijing favours Vienna negotiations concluding and he voices China’s support for lifting US sanctions against Iran
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismisses claim Russia is responsible for the pause in negotiations and accuses US of trying to shift the blame
“China always supports an early agreement on resuming compliance with the nuclear deal, and is open to and supportive of efforts to this end,” Wang told his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a phone conversation, according to Xinhua.
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“In the face of the rapidly evolving international and regional situation, China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Iran to push the resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue in a direction conducive to regional peace and stability,” Wang said.
Abdollahian, who was on a trip to Moscow, thanked China for its “constructive role” in the Vienna talks over the past 11 months and expressed hope the negotiations could resume soon.
“Iran stands ready to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and resolve the final outstanding issues through consultation with related parties, so as to work towards a good agreement,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.
Their conversation came as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought fresh uncertainty to any revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which former US president Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018.