Iran, France Hold New Round of Political Negotiations
Ranking diplomats from Iran and France met in Tehran for the third round of political negotiations, an initiative agreed on by the two countries’ president in 2016.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for American and European Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi held a meeting in Tehran on Monday with Christian Masset, secretary-general of France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, for the third round of Iran-France political negotiations.
The periodical talks began in January 2016, after a visit to Paris by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, when the two nations signed a number of agreement.
In the Monday gathering, Takht Ravanchi and Masset discussed a range of issues, from implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), to regional conflicts.
Describing efforts to carry out the JCPOA as a “collective responsibility” of all of the parties, Takht Ravanchi deplored the US government for its lack of commitment to the nuclear deal, stressing that Tehran cannot be indifferent to such American conduct.
For his part, Masset stressed the need for full implementation of the JCPOA, and expressed the hope for expansion of Tehran-Paris cooperation on bilateral, regional and international issues.
The two sides also discussed joint action against terrorism and cooperation for settlement of regional crises.
According to an agreement signed in January 2016, foreign ministries of Iran and France hold regular political negotiations.
