Iran-China agreement to become operational as of Friday
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday that the 25-year agreement with China will become operational as of today.
He made the remarks at the end of his comprehensive talks with his Chinese counterpart during his one-day trip to the country.
He further noted that as agreed with the Chinese officials during the conversations, the two countries will start implementation of the comprehensive strategic agreement as of Friday.
The Foreign Minister further said simultaneous with the talks in China, Iran prepared the necessary grounds for starting the implementation of the agreement on Friday.
He also said that he carried the message of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping which was related to the task of starting implementation of 25-year agreement.
As for the ongoing talks in Vienna on Iran's nuclear deal with a number of western countries within the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he appreciated the positive role of the Chinese envoy who, together with his Russian counterpart, stood up to defend Iran's nuclear talks and the need for removal of anti-Iran sanctions.
Today, we are pursuing more important agreements so that we could work out a good agreement in Vienna in shorter time, he said, adding that China, like Russia, played a very significant role in this.
Amirabdollahian went on to hope that the western parties of the JCPOA would adopt a realistic view with the objective of reaching a good agreement which would entail the rights and interests of the Iranian nation.
Highlighting the absence of any initiatives by the western countries in Vienna talks, the Iranian foreign Minister said both the E3 countries and the US offer good rhetoric in their non-paper messages but fail to offer any true initiatives in practice.
He further pointed to the paradox in the behavior and action of the western parities of the JCPOA claim they are worried but at the same time say that they are in a hurry.
I am inclined to make it clear in a loud voice that the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes a good agreement to be developed in the shortest time possible the realization of which depends on western members of the JCPOA, Amirabdollahian said.
Amirabdollahian arrived in China Thursday afternoon to hold talks with Chinese authorities.
In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday, the two sides underlined the need to expand mutual cooperation in different fields.
During today's meeting, the Iranian and Chinese foreign ministers explored avenues for bolstering bilateral relations in various areas such as political, economic, trade, consular and cultural issues.
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