After Iran deal, Mogherini holds talks in Tehran on implementation: Stresses "New Chapter"
Two weeks after the Iranian nuclear deal in Vienna, the EU's Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini i was in Tehran on Tuesday with a team of senior EU officials to stress the need to start as soon as possible the implementation of the agreement. The High Representative met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign minister Javad Zarif and Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani. After the meeting, President Rouhani tweeted that the Iran deal "gave the world new hope re diplomacy's role in resolving international problems".
Mrs Mogherini paid tribute to the personal commitment of Foreign Minister Zarif and "the personal and political support that clearly was there from the President and the Supreme Leader, something that made the deal possible." But now, she warned, the same political will is needed to accompany the implementation of the deal. "We have agreed to hold high-level talks between Iran and the European Union over different issues, including energy cooperation, human rights, confronting terrorism and regional issues", said Mogherini during the press conference with Mr. Zarif.
Deal opens new Chapter for Iran, Europe and International community
The deal, she underline in comments to her hosts and the Press, shows that diplomacy and multilateralism work. Now, she said, a new chapter can be open for Iran and the Iranian people; On the relations between Iran and in the International community, included the European Union; on the international cooperation in the Middle East to address crises such as in Syria. " I know that around 60% of iranian population is under 30, I think this is an investment that your leadership is doing in the future of your country in the younger generations.", she said.
Many things can change now, provided that the deal is fully and consistently implemented. "The unanimous vote in the UN Security Council resolution endorsing Vienna deal was proof" of the possibility to move to different relations between Iran and the east of the world. And the European Union is ready. "The Europe and Iran are close - are close geographically, when it comes to geography, when it comes to history, when it comes to culture. Europe and Iran, we both know what it means to be the cradle of civilisations, different ones, but ones that are used to confront the legacy of our past and of our history."
Hope for a framework of cooperation in Middle East
The third new chapter she highlighted was a different framework from the region, "If we will manage to support a different understanding of the dynamics in the region, one that is based on cooperation rather than confrontation or competition, this would lead to benefits for all in the region and beyond.", she said. "I believe that there will be an added value in a process that could hopefully find solutions to many crises around us, starting from the one in Syria and the fight against terrorism, but also others. And count on the European Union to do its part to support a different regional framework, based on hopefully the building of trust."
Talks in Riyadh
Prior to her visit to Tehran she stopped in Saudi Arabia for talks with Adel Bin Ahmed AL-Jubeir, Saudi Foreign Minister. During an almost four hours meeting, they discussed cooperation through the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Middle East Peace Process, Syria, Iraqi, human rights and also Saudi concerns about the international deal with Iran. "It is very important for me, personally, first to pass a message that the agreement is strong and solid. It's first of all a nuclear non-proliferation agreement that will guarantee that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon for the next ten to fifteen years and with solid mechanisms of snapback of sanctions", she insisted during a press conference in Riyhad, "having said that, we are very much aware of the concerns, of the worries of the countries of the region, also in Europe. We are quite close to the region as well, so we understand the concerns very well."
Links:
Federica Mogherini speaking after talks Adel Bin Ahmed AL-Jubeir, Saudi Foreign Minister
Mogherini proud of EU cooperation on Iran deal
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