Iraqi foreign minister Fouad Hussein called on Thursday, December 23, during a visit to Tehran, Iran and the United States to begin direct negotiations on the nuclear issue.
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After a five-month hiatus, negotiations to save the international Iran nuclear deal concluded in 2015 resumed in Vienna at the end of November.
The stake of the talks aims to bring back into the pact the United States which had left it in 2018 and had reinstated sanctions against Tehran.
The United States participates in the negotiations indirectly, Tehran refusing direct discussions with Washington.
Indirect negotiations with the United States
“
We call (...) for direct negotiations between the two parties. Iraq's interest lies in helping the two parties to dialogue around a table,
”Hussein said during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. "
We proposed it to the Americans and we made this proposal
" to the Iranians, he added. Hussein recalled that the negotiations with the American side were carried out "
via the European envoy
".
"
We think the time has come for direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran (...) not just around the nuclear project, but also around sanctions,
" he continued. For the Iraqi minister, whose country is neighboring Iran, the tension between Tehran and Washington "
directly impacts the political and security situation in Iraq
" and a detente between them can have a "
positive effect
" on the political and economic levels. and safe. His Iranian counterpart did not respond directly to Hussein's call.
"
Americans send some unwritten messages to meetings and receive responses
" from Iran indirectly, he said.
"
We want to reach a good agreement and we hope that the other parties also come to negotiate with (...) the same good will
", he added.
The Vienna negotiations are due to resume Monday after a ten-day hiatus.
Iraq has been caught for years between its two most influential partners, the United States and Iran, both enemy countries, and has repeatedly complained that their rivalry is having repercussions on its ground.