Zarif to visit China, Russia, EU Headquarters

TEHRAN, May 12 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will travel to China, Russia and Belgium on Saturday night to consult the possibility of surviving JCPOA with Europe and other parties to the deal, FM spox said. Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will travel to China, Russia and EU Headquarters in Brussels to discuss the future of the Iran nuclear deal after US president on Tuesday decided to pull out the agreement. The trip will begin with China, which he will visit on Sunday and Monday, then Zarif will travel to Russia and meet with his counterpart. Then he will go to Brussels to meet with his European counterparts. Russian Foreign Ministry's Second Asian Department Director Zamir Kabulov confirmed that Zarif would visit Moscow on Monday. The office of the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also announced that the Iranian foreign minister is scheduled to meet his British, French and German counterparts in Brussels on Tuesday. Mogherini will host the talks between the so-called E3 powers and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the statement said. Mogherini said shortly after Trump's announcement on Tuesday that the EU is "determined to preserve" the deal, while EU leaders are set to discuss the issue at a summit in Bulgaria next week. Britain, France and Germany led a campaign to persuade Trump to stick with the deal negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama.