China hopes ministerial meeting to send clear signal of maintaining Iran nuclear deal

VIENNA - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday expressed belief that the upcoming foreign ministers' meeting on the Iran nuclear issue would surely send a clear signal of solidarity to maintain and implement the Iran nuclear deal.

Wang made the remarks while responding to a question at a press conference joint held with Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl.

The meeting to be held Friday in Vienna by foreign ministers of France, Germany, Russia, Britain, Iran and China will be the first foreign ministers' meeting by parties remaining within the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after the US withdrawal from the deal.

He stressed that all parties to JCPOA, an international multilateral agreement endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, have obligations to comply with and implement it.

Failure to maintain and implement the deal would not only affect the Iran nuclear issue itself but also cause serious negative impacts on the functioning of the non-proliferation regime as well as on the situation in the Middle East, Wang said.

Calling the upcoming meeting as "very timely" and "necessary", Wang said China is willing to work with the European side to continue to make unremitting efforts towards maintaining and implementing JCPOA.