The Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) announced on Wednesday 26 February, at the end of its meeting in Vienna, that the experts had been tasked with advancing discussions on the agreement and the follow-up to the triggering of the dispute resolution mechanism by three European countries: Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
“As a follow up to the statement of the High Representative of 24 January (see EUROPE 12411/9) participants reviewed expert-level discussions which have taken place in different formats in past weeks, both as regards nuclear implementation issues and the wider impacts of the withdrawal of the US from the JCPOA and its re-imposition of sanctions and benefits arising from sanctions-lifting”, said the statement by the chair of the meeting, the Secretary General of the European External Action Service, Helga Schmid. “Experts were tasked to take these discussions forward”, she adds.
“All the participants are here in a race against time to find a specific solution to save the JCPOA”, explained the Chinese ambassador to International Organisations in Vienna, Wang Qun, quoted by AFP.
At the meeting, representatives of the EU, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, China (i.e. the E5) and Iran discussed, among other things, Iran's steps to reduce its commitments under the JCPOA. “Serious concerns were expressed regarding the implementation of Iran's nuclear commitments under the agreement”, Mrs Schmid stressed in her statement. According to her, all participants reaffirmed “the importance of preserving the agreement”.
“We remain open to any initiative that could guarantee Iran the benefits of the agreement (...) We are fully prepared to go back, in exchange, on the decisions we have taken so far against the full respect of the commitments of other parties”, said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, according to AFP. He added that “the JCPOA is still alive”.
While the E5 and Iran welcomed “the positive developments in the processing of first transactions by INSTEX”, they recognised the importance of further strengthening the trade support instrument. No transition has yet been made via INSTEX.
The participants also reiterated their “strong support and collective responsibility” for the continuation of key nuclear non-proliferation projects and point to the continued efforts of China and the United Kingdom to advance the Arak modernisation project. They also supported Russia's work to continue the implementation of the stable isotope project at Fordow. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)