China is ready to work together with all parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the preservation and implementation of the Iranian nuclear program deal, at this stage the most important task is to restore the balance between the rights and obligations of the parties, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijiang said on Thursday.
“The meeting of the commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the Iranian nuclear program at the level of political directors was held in Vienna on February 26. The parties discussed the implementation of the transaction and further coordination of actions”, – Zhao Lijian said.
According to the diplomat, the Chinese side emphasized that the JCPOA on the Iranian nuclear issue is an important result of multilateral diplomatic efforts and received international support.
“The US withdrawal from the agreement and exerting maximum pressure are the main cause of the current crisis, (remaining in the deal – ed.) Countries must implement the agreement, objectively and fairly approach to solving problems”, – he added.
The main task at the moment, he said, is “restoring the balance between the rights and obligations of the parties”.
“The parties to the agreement reaffirmed their commitment to preserving it and their readiness to take concrete measures for its full and effective implementation, China will continue to work together with other parties to preserve the deal, as well as to advance a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue”, – he added.
In 2015, the Six (Great Britain, Germany, China, Russia, the USA, France) and Iran announced the achievement of the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan. The agreement provided for the lifting of sanctions in exchange for limiting Iran’s nuclear program. The deal in its original form did not survive even three years: in May 2018, the United States announced a unilateral withdrawal from it and the restoration of stringent sanctions against Tehran.
On January 14, Germany, France and the United Kingdom announced the launch of a dispute resolution mechanism for a nuclear deal with Iran due to Tehran’s refusal to fulfill part of its obligations under the document. The Europeans have been discussing the adoption of this measure for some time, but decided to take this step only after Iran, as part of a phased reduction of its obligations under the agreement that the United States had previously withdrawn, announced its waiver of restrictions on the number of centrifuges.