JCPOA Joint Commission to Convene in Vienna on Dec. 6

EghtesadOnline: Parties to the 2015 nuclear deal will hold a Joint Commission meeting on Dec. 6 in Vienna, Austria, to discuss how to salvage the international agreement, the European Union said in a statement.

News ID: ۷۴۹۰۶۸

30 November 2019

The upcoming meeting will be chaired by Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Helga Schmid and will be attended by officials from China, France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom and Iran, according to the statement, published by EEAS.

The Joint Commission is a forum where the signatories can discuss problems regarding the implementation of the nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The meeting was called after Iran took the fourth step in exceeding JCPOA limits in response to the United States' unilateral withdrawal last year and its reimposition of severe sanctions on Tehran, according to Financial Tribune.

Iran has declared that the moves will be reversed once European parties activate practical mechanisms to protect the Iranian economy against US pressure as pledged.

The EU has urged Iran to return to full compliance, expressing readiness in their recent statement to consider the dispute resolution mechanism that could end in the United Nations Security Council with a so-called "snapback" of global sanctions on Iran.

Tehran maintains that its reciprocal measures are within the JCPOA framework and based on a provision that allows one party to reduce its compliance if other signatories fail to honor their obligations.

‘Critical Stage’

At a press conference on Wednesday, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang expressed concern that the Iranian nuclear issue has come to "a critical stage", stressing that full and effective implementation of JCPOA is the only viable way to ease the tensions.

"We hope this meeting will help all parties consolidate the political consensus of upholding JCPOA, work out fulfillment issues through consultation and explore effective means of implementation, in particular with regards to restoring the balance of rights and obligations of all parties," he was quoted as saying by the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, also posted the news on his Twitter account, saying it would be a difficult session.

"Another round of difficult discussions can be expected in the light of deteriorating situation around #NuclearDeal."