Russia Warns of Harmful Consequences if US Quits Iran Nuclear Deal

The Kremlin warns that the possible decision by US President Donald Trump to pull out of a landmark nuclear agreement Iran signed with the P5+1 group of countries in 2015 will have harmful consequences.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there would be “inevitable harmful consequences to any actions towards breaking these agreements,” press TV reported.

The US president is expected to announce a decision on Tuesday on whether to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany.

 Under the JCPOA, reached under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

“The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal.  He was the one that created this MESS in the first place,” he tweeted to point the finger at the former secretary of state.

The US president on January 12 reluctantly agreed to waive sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the landmark deal, but threatened to withdraw from the accord if some “disastrous flaws” were not fixed.

Trump said he wanted America’s European allies to use the 120-day period before sanctions relief again came up for renewal to agree to tougher measures and new conditions; otherwise Washington would pull out of the deal.

World must uphold JCPOA integrity, sanctity: China

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang also on Tuesday said the international community must uphold the integrity and sanctity of the JCPOA.

Speaking at a regular briefing in Beijing, he added that the JCPOA is a multilateral deal which was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 2231.

“Upholding integrity and sanctity of the JCPOA under current situation will be conducive to maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East,” he said.

The Chinese spokesperson urged all relevant parties to promote dialog and coordination, properly handle differences and continue to faithfully implement their obligations under the landmark deal.

“China will continue to keep close contacts with relevant parties from an objective, just and responsible approach, and be committed to upholding and implementing the JCPOA,” said the spokesman.

Other signatories to the JCPOA, as well as the UN and the European Union, which moderated the talks in the lead-up to the agreement, have warned Washington against trying to sabotage it. They call it a pillar of regional and international peace and stability, and a multilateral pact, which cannot be simply terminated by a single party.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Berlin saw no reason to scrap the nuclear deal and vowed to do everything possible to uphold it.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said in Berlin that France, Britain and Germany would preserve the nuclear deal with Iran irrespective of the United States’ decision later this week, because it is the best way to avoid nuclear proliferation.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday Moscow will continue to honor its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal for as long as other countries abide by their obligations.

The foreign ministers of Germany and France on Monday expressed their countries’ firm determination to preserve the multilateral agreement.

In a post on his Twitter account, Trump criticized a top official from the Obama administration in charge of negotiations that yielded the deal in 2015.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that her country would deem any changes to the deal to be unacceptable.

Speaking at a press briefing on April 27, a spokeswoman for Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, said Beijing would continue to uphold and implement the deal.

She threw her country’s weight behind the nuclear agreement.

H.M