French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday defended the Paris Agreement
on climate change and asked concerned parties to retain the Iran
nuclear deal, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
"This (Paris) agreement is not up for re-negotiation, we will not
back-track," Macron told the UN General Assembly (UNGA), shortly after a
speech by US President Donald Trump, whose decision to withdraw from
the Paris Agreement has startled the world.
"I fully respect the decision of the US. The door will always be open,"
said Macron, who spoke for the first time at the United Nations. "We
must shoulder our responsibility. The planet will not negotiate with
us."
On Iran, he said the international agreement reached in July 2015
between Tehran and the six countries of Britain, China, France, Germany,
Russia and the US was a "solid, robust agreement that verifies that
Iran will not build a nuclear weapon."
"Renouncing it would be a grave error, not respecting it would be irresponsible," he warned.
Trump, in his speech, slashed Iran, calling the Iran nuclear deal an "embarrassment to the United States."
The UNGA on Tuesday kicked off its annual general debate, with heads of
state and government representatives gathering at the UN headquarters
to present their views about pressing world issues.
