Key points
- Meeting will be attended by China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu
- Russia’s Sergey Alexeevich and Iranian Gharibabadi will represent their nations
ISLAMABAD: China will host Russia and Iran for trilateral talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme on Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said.
“The three parties will exchange views on the Iranian nuclear issue and other issues of mutual interest,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday, according to AFP.
The meeting will be attended by China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.
Washington’s withdrawal
During US President Donald Trump’s first term, which ended in 2021, Washington withdrew from the landmark deal that had imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
Tehran adhered to the 2015 deal for a year after Washington’s withdrawal, but then began rolling back its commitments.
Efforts to revive the pact have since faltered, according to AFP.
According to New York Times, regarding talks with the US, Iran’s UN mission said it would be willing to discuss its nuclear programme if talks were restricted to military concerns, after its supreme leader appeared to reject President Trump’s offer to start discussions.
Trump’s letter
Earlier, according to Reuters, US President Donald Trump had said he wanted to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and had sent a letter to its leadership that week suggesting talks with the Islamic Republic, which the West fears is rapidly nearing the capability to make atomic weapons.
“I said I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network broadcast on Friday.
