PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2019) French President Emmanuel Macron denied on Sunday that he had received any mandate from the fellow G7 leaders to hold talks with Iran on the club's behalf, noting that the nations, "each in its role," would make coordinated efforts in this regard.
Earlier in the day, French media, citing a diplomatic source, reported that G7 leaders had tasked Macron with sending a message to Tehran about the future of the Iran nuclear deal, based on the results of negotiations in Biarritz. Later, US President Donald Trump refuted the reports that the summit had discussed the possibility of such a mandate.
"We held talks on Iran yesterday ... First of all, none of G7 nations wants Iran to have nuclear weapons. Secondly, all G7 members are deeply committed to stability and peace in the region, and no one will take steps that could harm it. Within this framework, we discussed various initiatives," Macron told reporters in Biarritz.
The G7 is an "informal club, and officially there is no mandate that is given one or another" nation within the club, the French president stressed.
"Therefore, there are initiatives that will be taken by all these nations to achieve these two goals, and this is important. And we agreed yesterday that we will continue to act - each in its role," Macron added.
France's Biarritz is currently hosting the G7 summit. Relations with Iran are considered among the main thorny issues that divide the club of the world's leading nations. European signatories to the Iran nuclear deal condemn the US withdrawal from the multilateral treaty.
Earlier in the day, Macron said that the G7 leaders had agreed to maintain "joint communication" on Iran to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and avert an escalation of regional tensions.
