Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
said Friday that the international agreement on Iran's nuclear program
should remain as it is.
"The re-opening (re-negotiation) of the
JCPOA is not wanted by us, nor by China, France, Germany and the UK,"
Lavrov told reporters, using the official name of the July 2015
agreement, which was reached between Iran and the five countries as well
as the United States.
Such a move would be "a very wrong signal to North Korea," he said.
"Right now North Korea is being told:
renounce the nuclear weapons and we will lift the sanctions. If this
agreement on the Iran nuclear deal will fall apart, North Korea would
say: why do I need to negotiate with you if you do not carry out your
promises?"
The Iran nuclear deal was something done and should not be taken back, said Lavrov.
He said German Foreign Minister Sigmar
Gabriel made a convincing case on Thursday in his speech to the General
Assembly, quipping that he did not want to "plagiarize."
Gabriel said the Iran nuclear deal is not only about Iran, but also about the credibility of the international community.
"Which state would refrain from
developing its own nuclear program if it turns out that negotiated
agreements do not endure, and confidence in agreements with the
international community is not worth the paper they are written on?" he
asked. "How are we going to convince countries like North Korea that
international agreements provide them security, and in so doing make
them commit to further disarmament efforts, if the only international
example for such an endeavor being successful -- the agreement with Iran
-- no longer has effect?"
The calls for the preservation of the
Iran nuclear deal came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to
pull out of the agreement. In his speech to the General Assembly on
Tuesday, he called the deal "an embarrassment."
On the nuclear issue of the Korean
Peninsula, Lavrov deplored the lack of efforts toward the establishment
of a peace and security mechanism in Northeast Asia.
"If we started to talk about this
mechanism, if we started this process to shape this peace and security
mechanism in Northeast Asia, probably we would have a permanent channel
of communication with North Korea," said Lavrov.
With this channel, Pyongyang would have a
better perception of the concerns of the other parties of the six-party
talks -- China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Russia -- and
the five countries would have a better understanding of the concerns of
Pyongyang, he said. "It is always much better to meet and discuss each
other's proposals. It is so much better than isolating, intimidating and
threatening someone."
