Russia opposes amending Iran nuclear deal provisions - senior diplomat

ASTANA, August 29. /TASS/. Moscow opposes any changes to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program and calls on all partners to avoid unilateral decisions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday speaking at the 62nd International Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs. "Our assessment is that all issues in the nuclear part of this agreement are more or less stable," he said. "Of course, there are some very problematic and ambivalent issues. However, we try to tackle them within the framework of the joint commission of this agreement," Ryabkov went on to say. "We constantly encourage all partners to avoid unilateral actions without full prior consent of the entire commission." "We are firmly opposed to any interpretations, any toughening or amending the text of this agreement," he emphasized. The JCPOA has been drawn up "in its final version, it has an appropriate mandate of international agencies, and any unilateral action by any party to this agreement will be aimed at undermining its stability, the spirit of confidence that we are trying to establish within the framework of this deal," the Russian senior diplomat warned. On July 14, 2015, Iran and a group of six world powers (five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) reached an agreement on resolving the persisting Iranian nuclear problem by adopting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). On January 16, 2016, it was announced that the implementation of this plan endorsed by the relevant UN Security Council resolution began. This plan envisages removal of the sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program by the UN, the US and the European Union. In return, Tehran pledged to limit its nuclear activities placing them under international control. Read more