“I got a mandate from the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union after the tragic events that we have been witnessing in this region since the start of the year to try to look at what we could do in order to increase the stability and the trust among actors in the region, which is very important for us Europeans. Because security and stability [in this region] affects directly our security and stability also,” he said following his visits to Iran, according to the official website of the European Union.
“And as I was saying, the year started in a very big turmoil with tragic events, with confrontations, with decisions about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], with the presentation of a new peace plan for the Middle East. Altogether, it has created a situation in which we Europeans, the European Union, have started contacts with all actors in order to see what we can do,” he added.
“I have been visiting Iran because we cannot talk about stability in the region without taking into account Iran. But also talking with the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Saudi Arabia [Adel al-Jubeir] and of the [United Arab] Emirates [Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan], talking with the President of Iraq [Barham Salih]. I was planning to go to Iraq but it has not been possible because the new Prime Minister [Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi] was just nominated on Saturday. Also, I stopped in Jordan, where I visited the King [Abdullah II of Jordan] and the Foreign Affairs Minister [Ayman Safadi]. And I am going to go to Washington next Friday,” Borrell said.
He went on to say, “We are trying to keep in touch with everybody in order to try to see what we can do, once again to stabilize the region and to create mutual understanding or at least to build trust, which is certainly lacking.”
“The activation of the dispute resolution mechanism foreseen in the framework of the JCPOA by the three European countries - France, Germany and the United Kingdom - does not mean that these countries want to go to the Security Council [of the United Nations] in order to definitely cancel the nuclear deal,” he noted.
“As far as I know -I have been talking with them, even in the last Foreign Affairs Council- all of them insisted that this is not a measure oriented to finish with the deal, but to try to keep it alive, to give time for negotiation,” Borrell added, saying, “All of them agreed on enlarging and continuously postponing the dates and the time limits that the regulation of the JCPOA foresees.”
“In the meantime, I asked the Iranian authorities and I think they agreed, to continue with the surveillance by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the only one that can certify what is the real state of Iran’s nuclear development,” he said.
“We expect some positive steps on the nuclear side and Iranians expect some positive aspects on the economic side. That is what we are going to try to deal within the next weeks. Our will is not to start a process that ends the JCPOA, but that keeps it alive,” EU’s chief highlighted.
“Some voices have been asking for enlarging the scope of the deal and introducing new aspects. Personally, as coordinator [of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA], it is not my business. The coordinator of the deal is the coordinator of the deal. If someone wants to enlarge the deal, okay, do it. My job as a coordinator is to manage the deal which has been approved, not the one that may be approved,” he added.
MNA/PR