US Decision on 'Nuclear' Waivers Might Mean JCPOA Talks in Final Stage, Russian Envoy Says

VIENNA (Sputnik) - The decision of the United States to restore "nuclear" waivers will speed up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) restoration and might be seen as a signal that the JCPOA talks have entered the final stage, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Saturday.

"The US decision to restore 'nuclear' waivers is a move in the right direction. It will help expedite restoration of #JCPOA and mutual return of #US and #Iran to compliance with 2015 deal. It also can be seen as an indication that the #ViennaTalks have entered the final stage," Ulyanov wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, the Biden administration restored a sanctions waiver for Iran that is meant to ensure its compliance with nuclear commitments, as stakeholders enter the final weeks of negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Since April 2021, Vienna has been hosting talks to restore the deal. The eighth round of talks on the 2015 nuclear deal has been underway in Vienna since late December. The parties previously agreed on two drafts of the deal, which included provisions covering Iranian interests.

In May 2018, the Trump administration abandoned the deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran, which in response abandoned its commitments under the agreement.

The signatories to the original nuclear accord were the United States, Iran, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union. It required Tehran to scale back its nuclear program and drastically reduce its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including the lifting of an arms embargo five years after the deal was made.