Visiting French delegation headed by Philippe Bonnecarrère, French Senator and President of France-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group as well as Mrs. Delphine O, a Member of French National Assembly also President of France-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group met with Head of Iran-France Parliamentary Friendship Group, Kazem Jalali in Tehran on Sunday.
Mrs. Delphine O expressed her happiness with the visit to Tehran, saying both French National Assembly and the Senate welcome strengthening ties with Iran and said that the visit is taking place in line with that goal.
Also in the meeting, Senator Philippe Bonnecarrère said that France as it showed during nuclear negotiations has an independent foreign policy from that of the United States and European decisions are not made under the influence of the Americans.
Bonnecarrère stressed that the financial mechanism (Special-Purpose Vehicle) that the EU has promised can be used in Europe’s future trade relations with other countries in addition to Iran.
Kazem Jalali, for his part, expressed hope that the mechanism promised by the EU help Iran gain its legitimate rights as being stipulated in the JCPOA.
Jalali said that meetings between parliamentary groups can develop parliamentary diplomacy in the interest of strengthening friendly bilateral relations.
The senior Iranian lawmaker described France as ‘an effective country’, saying that Iran pursues long-term goals in its bilateral relations with France, stressing ”we believe we can strengthen cooperation in all political, economic, and cultural fields.”
Referring to the current talks between Iran and Europe on the implementation of the JCPOA and mechanism the EU has promised Iran to keep the bilateral trade alive, Jalali said “Europeans' political support for the continuation of the JCPOA is clear and explicit,” adding “we hope that the true will and practical solutions of the European Union will result in securing Iran’s benefits and legitimate demands.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian parliamentary official expressed his dissatisfaction with the practical steps taken by the Europeans so far in the face US unilateralism to secure Iran’s economic interests, noting that implementing the promised financial channel can be an effective step.
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