Participants of the meeting of the Joint Commission for the Implementation of the JCPOA in ViennaMOSCOW, January 14 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov said that there is real progress on the issue of restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program. «On the Iranian nuclear program, I would still take a more realistic position. There is real progress, there is a real desire, first of all between Iran and the United States to understand specific concerns, to understand how these concerns can be taken into account in a common package. It can only be a package solution, just like the nuclear deal itself was a package solution,» Lavrov said during a press conference. The minister stressed that Moscow expects a deal to be reached. According to him, it is important that Iran be realistic and cooperate with the IAEA, and that Western negotiators do not try to create psychological tension exchange for limiting Iran's nuclear program. In May 2018, then-US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw the country from the JCPOA and reinstated sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran announced a phased reduction in its obligations under the agreement, abandoning restrictions on nuclear research, centrifuges and the level of uranium enrichment. In early January, negotiations resumed in Vienna to restore the full operation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The eighth round of the Vienna talks is currently underway, it began on December 27, with a short pause for the New Year holidays. actions» in the event of the collapse of the JCPOA
