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Macron partners up with Putin to salvage Iran deal

Macron partners up with Putin to salvage Iran nuclear deal
MENA
2 min read
22 May, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron will hold direct talks on Iran on Thursday during Macron's two-day visit to Russia's St Petersburg.
Macron had unsuccessfully tried to dissuade Trump from withdrawing from the agreement last month [Getty]
Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron will hold direct talks on Iran on Thursday in St Petersburg.

Macron is set for a two-day visit in Russia to attend an economic forum in Russia, which will also be attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The pre-planned visit has gained some urgency after the US unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran, to which both Russia and France are signatories and want to maintain.

Macron will be taking to Russia the concerns of France's European allies - led by Germany and the UK - as the remaining signatories seek to salvage the nuclear agreement.

The EU's foreign policy chief had warned on Monday there was "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following Washington's withdrawal from the pact.

Pompeo - a longtime Iran hawk and fierce opponent of the 2015 agreement - earlier Monday outlined an aggressive series of "painful" measures designed to hurt Tehran, in his first key address since moving to the State Department from the CIA in April.

"Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

She stressed "there is no alternative" to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is officially known.

US President Donald Trump sparked international outcry earlier this month, when he announced his country would pull out of the landmark accord struck in July 2015 between Tehran and major world powers.

His move came despite the fact that the UN's nuclear watchdog, in charge of monitoring Iran's compliance with the deal, has confirmed that Tehran has so far abided by the terms.

Trump wants Brussels and others to support his hardline strategy and push for a fresh agreement.

The re-establishment of the US punitive measures will likely force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with Washington. Reports suggest behind-the-scenes efforts to maintain EU trade ties with Iran despite the sanctions.

The EU has been trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015
agreement, even without Washington's participation.

Macron himself had unsuccessfully tried to dissuade Trump from withdrawing from the agreement last month.