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EU’s Borrell on JCPOA talks: Political decisions must be made in capitals

Tehran, IRNA – EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that political decisions should be made in the capitals, as talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal wrapped up in Vienna.

Borrell made the remark on his twitter page.

He said: “Negotiators used these days of discussions and proximity talks between the US and Iran to fine tune and address – with technical adjustments – a handful of issues remaining in the text that I have put on the table last July 21, as coordinator of the #JCPOA nuclear deal.”

The top EU diplomat in another tweet added: “What can be negotiated has been negotiated, and it’s now in a final text. However, behind every technical issue and every paragraph lies a political decision that needs to be taken in the capitals. If these answers are positive, then we can sign this deal.”

The latest round of talks in Vienna, which aims to remove the anti-Iran sanctions reinstated after the US withdrawal in 2018, began on Thursday.

As the negotiations in which the US took part indirectly wrapped up, Western media reported that the European Union had put forward a “final text” which they said is non-negotiable and is regarded as a basis for decision-making by the parties to the talks.

However, the so-called “final” text contains proposals by the EU Coordinator of the Vienna talks, Enrique Mora, which cannot be considered as the final text and non-negotiable.

During the latest round of the negotiations, the Iranian team presented the Islamic Republic’s basic stance on issues such as the sustainable lifting of the sanctions, the required guarantees for the sanctions removal and issues alleged by the UN nuclear watchdog. The Iranian negotiators informed Mora of Tehran’s stance and he put forward his proposals on the disputed issues on Monday.

Although Mora has described his proposals as a “final text”, a decision on it lies within the authority of the parties to the talks, and there will be no talk of a final text and agreement until everything is agreed upon.

 

Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA