France, UK buck Iran sanctions extension
LONDON: France, Germany and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Thursday (Friday in Manila) saying that they cannot support the United States in seeking to reimpose sanctions on Iran.
The US sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday requesting to initiate the “snapback” mechanism, which allows a participant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) to seek the reimposition against Iran of the multilateral sanctions lifted in 2015 in accordance with resolution 2231, adopted by the UN Security Council.
“The US ceased to be a participant to the JCPoA following their withdrawal from the deal on 8 May, 2018… We cannot therefore support this action which is incompatible with our current efforts to support the JCPoA,” the statement noted.
France, Germany and the UK said they “are committed to preserving the processes and institutions which constitute the foundation of multilateralism. We remain guided by the objective of upholding the authority and integrity of the United Nations Security Council.
“We call on all UN Security Council members to refrain from any action that would only deepen divisions in the Security Council or that would have serious adverse consequences on its work.”
Reiterating that they remain committed to the JCPoA despite the significant challenges caused by US withdrawal, the three countries said they “believe that we should address the current issue of systematic Iranian non-compliance with its JCPoA obligations through dialogue between JCPoA participants, including through the Joint Commission and use of the Dispute Resolution Mechanism.”
In order to preserve the agreement, they urged Iran “to reverse all measures inconsistent with its nuclear commitments and return to full compliance without delay.”
Source: TheManila Times
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