Chinese envoy urges US to immediately lift unilateral sanctions

VIENNA -- The US promise on lifting unilateral sanctions must be put into action immediately, said Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, on Friday, after a meeting with other senior diplomats concerning the Iran nuclear deal.

"Regarding the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, China and the parties concerned clearly expressed their concerns at the meeting, and it must be lifted immediately," Wang told Xinhua after the talks on the resumption of implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the United States and Iran.

Wang said that "such sanctions problems were all caused by the previous US government's illegal sanctions on entities and individuals that implemented the JCPOA."

He stressed that the lifting of these sanctions is "not only a bilateral issue, but also an important aspect of safeguarding the JCPOA, which is the result of multilateralism."

"We have noticed that the US side recently released some positive messages about the lifting of such sanctions, and we call on the US to take practical actions immediately to facilitate the complete and effective implementation of the JCPOA," Wang added.

The Joint Commission of the JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal, resumed talks here again on Friday, following Tuesday's meeting. The Iran nuclear deal was struck in 2015 but paralyzed by the US withdrawal in 2018.

Wang told Xinhua that Friday's meeting was "constructive in general, as all parties have actively implemented the consensus reached at the joint ministerial meeting last December, and that the parties were moving in the right direction."

Intensive work has been carried out upon the two processes launched in the current meeting, namely, the nuclear implementation and sanction-lifting working groups' work, and the "proximity talks" with the United States, Wang said.

"Through these four days of meetings, the differences between the parties concerned are narrowing, and we have seen the momentum towards gradually forming a consensus among parties concerned. And this has created a beneficial atmosphere for the next step towards a good prospect," he added.

Wang said the parties will continue negotiations here next week. "We hope that the positive and constructive momentum of this week's meeting can be continued."

"Vienna is the place where the negotiations on the JCPOA started and reached," Wang said. "China hopes that Vienna will also witness all parties reaching an arrangement for the United States and Iran to resume the implementation of the JCPOA."