The conciliation meeting between the signatory countries of the Iranian nuclear agreement and Tehran will take place on Wednesday in Vienna, the European Commission’s diplomatic service announced on Monday.
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The purpose of the meeting is to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal - after Washington's withdrawal - by finding a way to persuade Tehran to abide by it, while steadily stepping away from it to protest the reimposition of sanctions by the United States. The principle of this meeting of the joint commission was announced at the end of January.
In addition to Iran, this meeting at expert level will bring together representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom. It will be chaired by Helga Schmidt, file specialist with the High Representative of the EU, Josep Borrell, said the press release.
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At the end of January, the European countries signatory to the JCPOA (nuclear agreement) - Germany, France and the United Kingdom - launched proceedings against Tehran for violation of its commitments. EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell had talks with Iranian leaders in early February during a visit to Tehran to try to ease tensions
In mid-February, Iran said it was ready to cancel all or part of the measures taken to disengage from the agreement, but only if Europe assured it in return for "significant" economic benefits. The agreement has been seriously threatened since the United States unilaterally denounced it in 2018. Tehran then retaliated by freeing itself since May 2019 from several of its key commitments. The 2015 agreement offers Iran the lifting of part of the international sanctions that were suffocating its economy in exchange for guarantees intended to prove the exclusively civilian nature of its nuclear program.
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