Lavrov said at a press conference that Russia is ready to accept a draft document on the restoration of the deal. But he said that there are “problems that have appeared recently in terms of Russia’s interests.”
Under the new deal, the Biden administration is expected to lift sanctions on Iran imposed by President Donald Trump after he pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, and Iran will be required to return to restrictions on its nuclear program. The original agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, will then be restored.
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President Biden vowed to return to the JCPOA, and diplomats spent months in Vienna discussing the details.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added a new level of complexity, changing the geopolitical calculations of the parties. Russia signed the original deal along with the US, Iran, China, the UK, France and Germany.
Given what Lavrov called “an avalanche of aggressive sanctions” imposed by the West on Russia, the country may not be able to capitalize on opening trade and investment opportunities with Iran.
He said Russia wanted “a written guarantee at the level of at least a secretary of state” that the new sanctions would not affect Russia’s right to “free, full-fledged trade, economic and investment cooperation and military-technical cooperation with Iran.”
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It was unclear whether such guarantees were possible, but the demand clouded hopes of a speedy deal.
Previously, Russia sought and was confident that Ukraine-related sanctions would not apply to Russia’s role in overseeing the implementation of the JCPOA, which makes Russia responsible for removing and storing Iran’s excess stocks of enriched uranium, diplomats say.
Lavrov’s comments on Saturday suggest Russia is seeking a much broader exemption, a senior Western diplomat said. If so, it would be “a major issue for negotiations,” he said.
Now that almost all the final details have been settled, any new demand will inevitably drag out negotiations, and “under the current conditions, any delay is dangerous,” the diplomat added.