Iran uranium enrichment understandings part of broader trust-building agreements - Kislyak
MOSCOW. June 5 (Interfax) - By announcing its intention to increase uranium enrichment, Iran has tied this to the West's compliance with its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, former Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak said.
Iran's earlier decision to reduce uranium enrichment was a voluntary step in its dialogue with Western countries, taken to display good will and prove its desire to reach an agreement, he said.
"Among other elements of the agreements, Iran assumed the obligation of reducing the enrichment level. In fact, this is a step toward trust-building measures to show that their nuclear program is absolutely civilian. This is a good step, this is the right step on their part. But this was part of their steps to address the West's concerns, expecting that Western countries would take steps to eliminate Iran's concerns," Kislyak told Interfax on Tuesday.
"This is the essence of the multilateral agreement," he said.
"Now their position is that if that some of the steps accommodating Iranians are canceled because of the American decision, then they are also freed from their obligations," Kislyak said.
This issue is tied to the stability of the region as a whole, he said.
"This is the essence of the problem, which goes beyond the enrichment-level issue. These are broader agreements that serve the stability of this region, which is so close to us. That's why we have so many concerns regarding the American decision," Kislyak said.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hamenei announced on Monday that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) will begin preparing to increase its uranium enrichment capacity without violating the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.