Putin on JCPOA: Not Everything is Lost Yet

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, stated on Friday, May 25, that despite the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, there is still a possibility of saving this nuclear agreement. Speaking at an international economic forum in St. Petersburg, he added that the U.S. President has not 'closed the door to negotiations' regarding the nuclear deal with Iran and that 'not everything is lost yet.' Donald Trump, the U.S. President, recently announced that the country is withdrawing from the JCPOA and that related sanctions against Iran would be reinstated. Following this decision, on May 10, he emphasized that he hopes to reach a 'good and fair' agreement with Iran, including the necessity of allowing inspectors access to Iranian military facilities. On Friday, Putin referred to these developments, stating, 'The U.S. President has not closed the door to negotiations; he says many aspects of the JCPOA do not satisfy him, but he has not outright rejected reaching an agreement with Iran.' The Russian President continued, 'However, the only way forward is a bilateral path. Therefore, we should not disrupt the situation too much. If we want to preserve something, we must keep the doors open for negotiations and reaching a final result. In my opinion, not everything is lost at this point.' Defending the JCPOA, Putin remarked that 'the cancellation of the JCPOA would harm the entire region and create the same problems we currently face with North Korea.' He emphasized that 'the issues surrounding North Korea are still unresolved' and questioned, 'Do we want a second problem of this type, perhaps larger, to arise?' His reference was to the nuclear and missile crisis that the United States and its allies have with North Korea, which has faced many uncertainties in recent days regarding the prospect of resolving this crisis. The West's concerns about Iran's nuclear and missile programs are primarily due to the threat these programs pose to Israel's security, which is considered a Western ally in the Middle East. On Friday, Putin, addressing this issue and referring to the JCPOA, asked, 'Would it be better for Israel if Iran exits this agreement? Or if it is forced to abandon the agreement?' He added, 'In such a case, Iran's nuclear activities would largely become opaque to everyone. We would no longer know what is happening there and what dangers might arise.' These remarks from the Russian President come as Israeli officials have welcomed the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. Putin spoke at the aforementioned meeting alongside his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who, according to Reuters, also discussed the JCPOA with reporters, stating that 'Trump disliked the nuclear deal with Iran because [Barack] Obama, the former U.S. President, achieved it.' Putin also emphasized on Friday that Barack Obama played a key role in the JCPOA negotiations with Iran and added that a sharp shift in U.S. foreign policy in this regard brings the risk of distrust and international instability. The Russian President addressed various other issues at the St. Petersburg meeting and stated that his country is ready to engage in discussions with the United States on various matters, but the proposed meeting between him and Donald Trump 'faces many difficulties and is currently not feasible.' Donald Trump had mentioned in March the possibility of holding a meeting with Vladimir Putin, but since then, relations between the two countries have deteriorated due to issues such as the Syrian conflict and the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.