China Says Talks Held With Russia And Iran Over Nuclear Issue

China’s foreign ministry has announced that it held a meeting on Monday with Russian and Iranian diplomats over nuclear talks scheduled to resume in Vienna.

The statement on Tuesday said that Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu held a video conference with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri-Kani.

“The three sides exchanged in-depth views on the Iranian nuclear issue and reached broad consensus. China, Russia and Iran will continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation, ensure that the talks on resuming compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action are on the right track, and strive for positive results as soon as possible,” the statement said, without providing any further details.

The Vienna talks suspended by Iran in June are set to resume in less than two weeks, with Iran presenting a much tougher posture, demanding all US sanctions to be lifted at once and also guarantees that no future US administration would withdraw from an agreement.

Six rounds of talks from April to June were focused on how the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) could be restored, including which US sanctions would be lifted and the sequence of mutual steps in reviving the agreement.