TASS - Head of the Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev stressed that Russia’s sole objective was preserving the agreement, and Moscow called on its partners to do that

Russia will do the best it can to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house) Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev told reporters on Monday following meeting with Head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi.

"For our part, we will do everything we can to prevent that (Iran’s withdrawal from the JCPOA - TASS) from happening, so that all the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have time to adapt to the new realities of illegitimate repressive US decisions and continue their cooperation with Iran on the JCPOA without the United States, but in the interests of international stability and security, and we will do our best to achieve that," Kosachev explained answering a question on Iran’s potential withdrawal from the JCPOA.

He added that Russia’s sole objective was preserving the agreement, and Moscow called on its partners, specifically, European counties, China and Iran, to do that.

"Iran’s emotional withdrawal from the JCPOA would only make the situation worse, consolidating Iran’s ill-wishers in the global community. The current situation when the US remains in isolation, and its stance on the Iranian dossier is rejected by the entire international community is most comfortable for Iran itself," Kosachev stressed.

The senator noted that Russia considered Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the deal and all subsequent repressive decisions on the issue to be totally illegitimate. According to Kosachev, Iran complies with its obligations under the deal, which has been recognized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He added that the United States’ decision contravened the UN Security Council’s resolution and international law.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, was signed between Iran and six international mediators (the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and France) on July 14, 2015. Under the deal, Iran undertook to curb its nuclear activities and place them under the total control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange for removal of the sanctions imposed previously by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s decision to withdraw from the deal, saying it leaves Iran a possibility to create a nuclear bomb bypassing all the restrictions. He warned the United States would reinstate its old anti-Iranian sanctions and would impose new ones.

Other signatories to the JCPOA - Russia, China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom - have reiterated their commitment to the deal.