MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2019) The foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states expressed their support for the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal based on the sides' commitment to meeting their obligations under the agreement, also referred to as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"[The CSTO foreign ministers] express their concern over the US' decision to unilaterally withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and support its further consistent implementation on the basis of all involved sides' commitment to meeting their obligations and preserving the carefully coordinated balance of interests that forms the basis of comprehensive agreements," the statement, issued late on Wednesday, read.
The top diplomats also expressed their support for efforts for de-escalating tensions around the JCPOA and expressed their strong intention to back them in line with the UNSC Resolution 2231, which endorsed the multilateral deal.
The United States left the deal in 2018, three years after it was signed. Other signatories of the deal � Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union � condemned the move and expressed their commitment to preserving the agreement, which seeks to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting western sanctions imposed on Tehran.
After its withdrawal, Washington began reimposing its sanctions on Tehran, while Iran responded by beginning to reduce its obligations under the JCPOA roughly a year later.
