JCPOA Joint Commission to convene in Vienna on Monday to define way ahead: EU’s Mora

The European Union's deputy foreign policy chief, Enrique Mora, says Iran and the five remaining signatories to the 2015 nuclear agreement will resume anti-Iran sanctions removal talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Monday to discuss and define the way ahead.

"#ViennaTalks to resume on Monday 27 December. The #JCPOA Joint Commission will meet to discuss and define the way ahead," tweeted Mora on Thursday, who represents the EU in the Vienna talks between Iran and the five remaining parties to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

“Important to pick up the pace on key outstanding issues and move forward, working closely with the US. Welcome to the 8th round,” he added.

Meanwhile, the European Union External Action Service (EEAS) also said in a statement that the 8^th round of the JCPOA Joint Commission talks will be chaired by Mora on behalf of EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.

It added that representatives of Iran and the P4+1 group of countries -- France, Germany, the United Kingdom, China and Russia – will attend the new round of the Vienna negotiations.

“Participants will continue the discussions on the prospect of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all sides,” the statement read.

Iran and the five remaining parties to the JCPOA resumed talks in Vienna on November 29 after a five-month hiatus, marking the first round of negotiations under President Ebrahim Raeisi’s administration and the seventh overall.

During the seventh round of the Vienna talks, Iran presented two draft texts, which address, separately, the removal of US sanctions and Iran’s return to its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA. Tehran also said it was preparing a third draft text on the verification of the sanctions removal.

Iran and the P4+1 group of countries resumed the talks in the Austrian capital on December 9 after being paused on December 3, when the participants returned to their capitals for additional consultations on the two draft proposals that Tehran had put forward.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Thursday that the Islamic Republic would continue negotiations for the removal of sanctions imposed on the country in the Austrian capital with seriousness, emphasizing that Tehran will never give excessive concessions to the opposite side.

“We explicitly announce that we will pursue our serious negotiations in Vienna with goodwill and seriousness and with an eye on achieving a good agreement, and we hope that the other parties would also continue [the talks] with the same approach,” Amir-Abdollahian added.

Iran says will continue sanctions removal talks with seriousness, rejects granting many concessions to P4+1

The Iranian FM says Tehran will continue the sanctions removal talks in Vienna with seriousness but will never give excessive concessions to the opposite side.

He recommended that the five remaining signatories to the JCPOA should have no doubt that “if they want to give one concession and get 10 concessions [in return], the Islamic Republic of Iran will never accept such an approach.”

'Iran, P4+1 group don’t want to waste time, want speediest restoration of JCPOA'

Meanwhile, Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov pointed to the resumption of the talks between Iran and the P4+1 group of countries on December 27, saying that usually it is not popular to engage in serious business during the New Year, but the participants [in Vienna talks] do not want to waste time.

“In this particular case this is an indication that all negotiators don’t want to waste time and aim at speediest restoration of #JCPOA,” Russia’s lead negotiator to the Vienna talks tweeted.

In another tweet, the Russian diplomat hailed the “very positive” role of the EU coordinators in the Vienna talks and voiced his country’s readiness to “continue strong cooperation with all other participants in the #ViennaTalks on #JCPOA.”

In response to a claim that the US and other world powers have determined a deadline behind closed doors for the Vienna talks, which will end "within weeks", Ulyanov said the establishment of “artificial” deadlines would not be helpful.

He said in a tweet that representatives of Iran and the five remaining signatories to the JCPOA should aim at swift and successful conclusion of the Vienna talks.

“But the establishment of artificial deadlines isn’t helpful. Moreover it can be detrimental. Not prudent,” the senior Russian diplomat warned.

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