VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2021) Successful completion of negotiations in Vienna on a nuclear deal is possible without personal contact between the Iranians and the Americans, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, said on Tuesday.
The meeting of the Joint Commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program is held in Vienna on Tuesday in face-to-face format at the level of political directors. Ulyanov heads the Russian delegation.
"I believe that this is possible. After the restoration of the JCPOA and as soon as the United States again becomes a participating country, the parties will automatically start talking to each other directly, since they will meet at regular meetings of the signatory states," Ulyanov said in an interview with the German magazine Spiegel, answering whether it was possible to successfully complete negotiations without a personal meeting between the Iranians and the Americans.
Ulyanov said that it would be desirable to complete negotiations on the Iranian nuclear deal by May 21.
"No one can predict this for sure. It would be best if we completed the negotiations by May 21, my European colleagues see it in the same way," he said.
According to the envoy, there are two reasons for this: on May 22, a preliminary agreement between Tehran and the IAEA ends, which ensures an acceptable level of verification by the IAEA in Iran.
"In addition, a new president will be elected in Iran in June. Candidates will be determined in May and the pre-election struggle will begin," he added.
Ulyanov said that Russia under any circumstances would prevent Iran from receiving an atomic bomb.
"And this applies to any country that does not possess nuclear weapons. There are five legitimate nuclear powers in the world and four more states that have atomic bombs. In no case should there be any more, this is an important goal of our policy," he added.
