On Friday 29 August, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas called for the 30-day period between the notification by Germany, France and the United Kingdom (E3) of the triggering of the ‘snapback’ mechanism the previous day and the application of the related sanctions, to be used to move diplomacy forward (see EUROPE 13697/3).
“We are entering a new phase. These 30 days are now giving us also the opportunity to really find diplomatic ways to find a solution”, “how we go forward”, stressed Ms Kallas on her arrival at the informal meeting of European defence ministers in Copenhagen. Like the E3 countries, Ms Kallas felt that Tehran had not been meeting the conditions set out in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) “for quite some time”.
The day before, in a press release, she had explained that she remained resolved “to do everything possible to facilitate further diplomacy and a negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue in my role as Coordinator of the Joint Commission of the JCPoA”. She called on the parties concerned to urgently undertake the necessary efforts in this regard. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)