JCPOA foreign ministers may meet on sidelines of ongoing UN General Assembly – Tehran
Tehran, Sept. 19, 2019 (Sputnik/NAN) The foreign ministers of the member states of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) may meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), a top Iranian official has said.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said this on Thursday.
According to the spokesman, Russia, China, France, the UK, and Germany have recently suggested holding a meeting of the foreign ministers of the JCPOA countries, although it was supposed to take place before the UNGA.
“Considering the circumstances at the moment, this meeting might happen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly if the Iranian delegation comes to New York,” Mousavi told Khabar Online outlet.
The 74th session of the General Assembly began Tuesday. The first day of the high-level General Debate will be Tuesday, 24 Sept. 2019.
On Wednesday, Iranian media reported that President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation, including Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, may skip the UNGA meeting since the U.S. had not yet issued them visas.
The visa situation was later confirmed to Tasnim News Agency by Zarif.
JCPOA was signed in 2015 by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, the U.S., and Germany together with the European Union.
In 2018, the U.S. abandoned its conciliatory policy on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and hitting Iranian petroleum industries with sanctions, prompting criticism from its allies in Europe.
A year later, Tehran began abandoning its commitments to the JCPOA. This process is currently in its third stage.
During the week of the debate, several other high-level events also will convene going by the programme schedule for the UN Geenral Assembly. These are:On Monday, Sept. 23, the UN Secretary-General will convene a Climate Summit, and the UNGA will hold a one-day high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage.
- On Tuesday, Sept. 24, following the opening of the 74th General Debate, the UNGA will convene a meeting of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which will take place on the afternoon of Sept. 24 and all day on Sept. 25.
- On Thursday, Sept. 26, the UNGA will hold a high-level dialogue on financing for development, as well as a high-level meeting on the elimination of nuclear weapons.
- On Friday, Sept. 27, the UNGA will hold the high-level meeting to review progress made in addressing the priorities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) through the implementation of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway. (Sputnik/NAN)