Russia, China call on US to drop Iran sanctions, restart talks on ‘mutual respect’
China and Russia stood by Iran on Friday after the United States demanded nuclear talks with Tehran, with senior Chinese and Russian diplomats saying dialogue should only resume based on “mutual respect” and that all sanctions ought to be lifted.
In a joint statement issued after talks with Iran in Beijing, China and Russia also said they welcomed Iran’s reiteration that its nuclear program was exclusively for peaceful purposes, and that Tehran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy should be “fully” respected.
“(China, Russia and Iran) emphasized that the relevant parties should be committed to addressing the root cause of the current situation and abandoning sanction, pressure or threat of force,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu told reporters after the meeting.
China, Russia and Iran also emphasized the necessity of terminating all “unlawful” unilateral sanctions, Ma said.
Ma’s meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi came days after Tehran rejected US requests for resumption of dialogue over the nuclear program.
Last week, Trump said he had sent a letter to Iranian officials, proposing nuclear talks, adding that, “There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal.”
Trump’s letter was delivered to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday by Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Iran will conduct a “thorough assessment” before responding to the letter.
No negotiations under pressure
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that he would not negotiate with the US while being “threatened,” and Iran would not bow to US “orders” to talk.
Pezeshkian sharply rebuked the Trump administration’s maximalist approach toward Iran, declaring that Iran is not Ukraine and it will not negotiate with the US under threats or coercion.
“We must maintain relationship with the world. We do not want to be estranged or quarrel with anyone, but that does not mean we will bow in humiliation before anyone,” Pezeshkian said.
“We may die with honor, but we will never live in disgrace.”
In February, Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei also urged the government not to negotiate with the US, citing Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.
In 2015, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions in a deal with the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. But in 2018, Donald Trump, a year into his first term as US president, pulled out of the pact.
In recent months, Tehran and Washington have expressed their interests in new negotiations to resolve the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program.
However, Iranian officials became skeptical after Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran in February, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
‘Peaceful’ nuclear program
“The Iranian nuclear program is peaceful in nature,” said Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi on Friday.
“It is under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran is receiving huge inspections from the IAEA, and our nuclear program has never been diverted to non-peaceful purposes.”
The main root cause of the current situation is the unilateral US withdrawal from the 2015 pact, Gharibabadi said.
China hopes all parties will meet each other halfway and resume dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible, Wang told the Iranian and Russian ministers separately after the trilateral meeting.
The United States should show “sincerity” and return to talks with Iran as soon as possible, said Wang.