Beijing to host talks on Iranian nuclear issue

As China, Russia and Iran prepare to hold talks on the Iranian nuclear issue in Beijing on Friday, observers said the meeting will once again highlight China's unique role in advocating the political settlement of regional and international hot spot issues.

China's Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu will chair the meeting, which will be attended by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

"The three parties will exchange views on the Iranian nuclear issue and other issues of mutual interest," Mao told reporters at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

In 2015, Iran reached the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, which lifted sanctions on Teheran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

In May 2018, the US unilaterally quit the plan and reimposed sanctions on Iran under its policy of "maximum pressure". Consequently, in 2019, Iran began to gradually scale back its obligations under the JCPOA, but its violations are largely reversible.

Last week, the US urged fresh talks on Iran's nuclear program and warned of possible military action if it refuses. Iran said it will not be "bullied" into talks with the US on the nuclear issue.

Experts noted that the meeting in Beijing is a significant diplomatic effort made by China to uphold multilateralism and regional stability.

As the host country of the tripartite talks, China has long been committed to promoting the peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue and has maintained communication with relevant countries through various channels in order to reach a broad consensus, they said.

Wu Bingbing, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Peking University, said that choosing Beijing as the venue for the talks shows Iran's endorsement of China as a crucial party to the Iranian nuclear issue.

Wu said he expects China to reiterate its support for the full implementation of the JCPOA and call on relevant parties to make joint efforts to achieve the goal. "China could also stress the importance of safeguarding the international nuclear nonproliferation regime and stability in the Middle East," he said.

In the face of rising uncertainties, including Washington's reimposition of the "maximum pressure" policy on Iran last month, the upcoming meeting will help reinforce the three parties' consensus on opposing pressure and supporting dialogues, Wu added.

Esmail Baqaei, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday that the tripartite talks will mainly address the issues related to nuclear energy and the lifting of sanctions.

Discussions will also cover other topics of interest to the three countries including regional and international developments and cooperation within the frameworks of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Baqaei said.

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the JCPOA, Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the Iranian nuclear issue has reached a crossroads and a window of opportunity for preventing nuclear proliferation in the Middle East has opened.

"It is the consensus among China, Russia and Iran that the lifting of sanctions serves as a crucial step in maintaining stability in the Middle East and avoiding further escalation caused by misjudgment," Sun said.

Observers said the meeting is also an important test for current international relations and global governance, as the international community expects talks to achieve new breakthroughs in the Iranian nuclear issue.

Wu, from Peking University, said the international community should not abandon the approach of resolving major regional hot spot issues through peaceful negotiations. "If confrontation and coercion tactics are chosen over peaceful negotiations to solve the Iranian nuclear issue, it will bring new instability to the region," he added.