The head of the EU diplomatic mission in Moscow, Markus Ederer, has said in an interview with TASS news agency that there are discussions among the EU countries that the INSTEX, which is a mechanism that was designed to protect trade exchanges with Iran from US sanctions, can cover Iran oil sales in addition to non-sanctioned goods.
Ederer said that "when we talk about INSTEX, we should start with the current political development surrounding the JCPOA. On the 8th of July, the International Atomic Energy Agency (for the first time since the entry into force of the JCPOA) confirmed that Iran is enriching uranium beyond the 3.67% threshold which has been fixed in the JCPOA. The EU is very concerned about this development and has called on Iran to avoid any further steps which could undermine the JCPOA. And, as you know, the EU, as a coordinator of the group which has negotiated the JCPOA, is therefore also in touch with China and Russia. The last Joint Commission of the JCPOA was held at the end of June this year."
The EU envoy to Russia added "INSTEX was created exactly to implement the JCPOA after the United States left the agreement. And it is there to enable legitimate trade between Iran and the international community. The 3 founding countries have announced, and I think it is part of the statement which they issued in January this year, that in an initial phase this instrument would be used for legitimate trade in medicines, medical devices and agri-food goods. After the last meeting of the EU 28 foreign ministers on the 15th of July, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini made a statement to the effect that trading of other goods including oil is now under discussion among stakeholders."
He went on to talk about the possibility of third countries' membership in INSTEX, saying that there was no new development in that regard. "It was said and it was clear from the beginning that third countries would have access to INSTEX. And I think that Germany, France and the UK have also made it clear that this would be possible after the initial phase when INSTEX would be used by EU Member States. As you will see from High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mogherini’s statement, she was also talking about difficult due diligence questions which first need to be addressed," he asserted.
"For the EU it is very important to keep the JCPOA in place, it is for us an important cornerstone of the International Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime. We are extremely interested, and it is a core interest for the European Union, not to allow a nuclear arms race in its neighborhood. So, the EU will do everything within its powers together with China and Russia, to keep the JCPOA alive," he further said.
In answer to the question that whether the European Union will call for new meetings on JCPOA and if there are any chances to get the United States to this meeting, he said "well, I understand that coordination efforts on a new meeting of the Joint Commission are under way. I think it’s too early to say when it can take place."
Ederer was also asked if he agreed with Zarif that there could be no better deal than JCPOA, saying that the JCPOA was the best agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear activities .
KI/PR