Iran ready to bolster ties with EU: President Rouhani
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic has always maintained “good” relations with the European Union, urging both sides to revive and strengthen bilateral ties.
The EU followed an “incorrect and wrong” path by imposing sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, Rouhani said in a Saturday meeting with President of the European Council Donald Tusk in New York on the sidelines of the 70th annual session of the UN General Assembly.
“Members of the European Union have suffered the most during the sanctions time, and in the new (post-sanctions) era, we should repair and expand Iran-EU relations in order to make up for the past,” Rouhani added.
He noted that Iran and the EU should draw plans for “considerable” development of mutual relations based on common interests, following the agreement between Tehran and six world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached in Vienna in July.
Iran and the P5+1 group – the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – succeeded in finalizing the text of the JCPOA in the Austrian capital on July 14.
Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.
Rouhani said “speedy and accurate” implementation of the JCPOA would play a very important role in improving bilateral cooperation, adding that all sides, particularly the EU, should work for the lifting of sanctions against Iran.
The Iranian president said the nuclear agreement would also help Iran and the 28-member bloc to cooperate and take positive steps to solve regional issues.
Necessity for Iran-EU ties
Tusk, for his part, stressed the importance of improving cooperation between Iran and the EU.
The European Council’s president said the lifting of sanctions against Iran means that the bloc has chosen the path of cooperation instead of confrontation, and meeting the two countries' interests instead of tension.
He praised the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries as an important achievement and the first step toward bolstering cooperation between the two sides.
He also urged the speedy and accurate implementation of the JCPOA despite all difficulties, adding that the final success of the agreement was possible through determination of the two sides and in cooperation with the EU members.
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