Iran, Russia discuss Afghanistan, JCPOA
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi discussed major bilateral and regional developments in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
The two exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, bilateral relations and talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. However, the deal was ditched by former US President Donald Trump in 2018 in spite of Iran’s full compliance with its contractual obligations.
Since April, the remaining signatories to the JCPOA have been holding face-to-face talks in the Austrian capital aimed at bringing the US back to compliance and putting the deal back on track.
So far, six rounds of negotiations have been held in Vienna, as a result of which, according to participants, “significant progress” has been made in the course of the “constructive” and “businesslike” talks.
Following the last round of the Vienna talks, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said the next session must wait until the newly-elected Iranian president takes office in early August.
In his first phone conversation with President Raeisi on Wednesday, President Putin congratulated his Iranian counterpart on his victory in presidential election in June.
The two further voiced Tehran and Moscow readiness to help restore peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the U.S. was set to complete its troop withdrawal after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday.
They later attended a press conference to lessen local and international concerns.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban answered various questions from journalists on a number of issues including women’s rights, the future of the press in Afghanistan, and the nature of the future government.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that Tehran will use all its capacities and available means to promote dialogue and reconciliation in the war-ravaged Afghanistan.
According to a statement by the Kremlin, Putin and Raeisi also discussed necessary preparations for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in response to Iran's official request to join the organization.
Presently, Iran is an observer member of the SCO. However, many of the regional organization’s member states believe that Iran's membership and increasing the number of members of the organization can increase the regional and global power of the organization.
Other major topics discussed by the Iranian and Russian presidents included Tehran and Moscow commitment to continuation of bilateral cooperation that will benefit both capitals in different issues, including major joint projects in trade and economic fields and cooperation in combating the fight against coronavirus.
Source: Iran Daily