SOCHI. June 22 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has not ruled out that the United States and Iran may be holding talks on the nuclear program, and has emphasized the importance of Washington returning to compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
"There is nothing kept secret that will not come to light. We had that in the past when the U.S. and Iran held indirect contacts behind closed doors. One can't rule out that such contacts are underway today as well," Ryabkov told reporters in Sochi.
Media outlets said earlier that talks were allegedly in progress between the U.S. and Iran to work out a provisional agreement on the nuclear program.
"What counts most to us is that the U.S. should return to full compliance with Resolution 2231. By withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], they committed a series of grave violations of this document, once again demonstrating complete disregard for the norms of international law. Despite the change of administration and Democrats replacing [Donald] Trump in power, everything remained the same. Therefore, if any agreement is achieved now, but the JCPOA is not reinstated in the format in which it was signed in 2015 and Resolution 2231 was approved, it will mean that Washington's grave violation of this resolution will persist, and we will draw relevant conclusions from the ongoing developments," he said.
"The Western group as a whole, not only the U.S., but also the so-called European troika, is staging attacks on Tehran under trumped-up pretexts and is continuing its sanctions policy, whereas the JCPOA is fully ready for reinstatement. Here it is simply necessary to demonstrate the political will, which is still lacking," Ryabkov said.
"Russia is ready to reinstate the JCPOA. If it does not happen, then, of course, it will be out of the question for us to take any practical steps stemming from this agreement, [which was] something that we had been doing throughout the period prior to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal," the deputy foreign minister said.