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EU would like to deepen co-op with Iran - Mogherini (exclusive)

Politics Materials 28 February 2016 09:00 (UTC +04:00)
The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) is crucial in itself for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and regional security, and it should also be considered a potential starting point
EU would like to deepen co-op with Iran - Mogherini (exclusive)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 28

By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:

The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) is crucial in itself for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and regional security, and it should also be considered a potential starting point, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

She made the remarks Feb. 27 in anticipation of her visit to Baku to participate in the second Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Meeting on Feb. 29.

Iran and the P5+1 group (the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany) implemented the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal) on Jan. 16, which eliminated sanctions on the country, including the restrictions over banking sector, releasing blocked assets abroad, etc.

She went on to add that the EU also re-launched its bilateral engagement with Iran.

"I just received Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels a few days ago, to discuss both regional and bilateral issues, and I am planning to travel to Teheran soon, together with a number of other European commissioners," she said.

"There is common willingness to have a regular political dialogue and restore close economic ties," she said.

Trade, energy, environment, migration and the rule of law are some of the issues where the EU would like to deepen its cooperation with Iran, according to Mogherini.

"I am sure that such renewed engagement will not only benefit the citizens of Iran and of our European Union: the positive spill-overs can reach the entire region - starting from Iran's neighbours, of course," she said.

Mogherini further said that the last seven months indeed became a different phase for regional dynamics.

"We have finally managed to bring all relevant international actors to the table, towards a negotiated solution to the conflict in Syria," Mogherini said. "I don't need to explain how crucial it is to bring that war to an end - you know all too well its destabilising effect in the region and the radicalising potential of a long-lasting sectarian confrontation in the Middle East."

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