RESTORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE JCPOA: PRINCIPLES AND APPROACHES. A VIEW FROM RUSSIA
Moscow, Russia. December 8, 2020.
During his presidential election campaign, Joe Biden said on several occasions that he would be ready to resume US participation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to resolve the situation with the Iranian nuclear program in the event of his election victory. He reiterated his position after the presidential elections. Russian ideas and diplomatic efforts played a major role in negotiating and adopting the JCPOA in July 2015. In the article, three Russian experts offer their views on the key principles and approaches to resuming full compliance with the JCPOA by all the original parties to the deal, and on the role Russia could play in that process.
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The Nuclear Club Journal: Top Stories and Analysis
- The Universe and Nuclear Weapons
by Roland Timerbaev; - The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: Another Victim of US Nuclear Policy?
by Grigory Berdennikov and Asya Shavrova; - The Future of the JCPOA and Its Impact on the Middle East by Alexander Mariyasov;
- Ways Out of the Korean Krisis
by Alexander Vorontsov; - Some Lessons from the Iran Nuclear Deal and Their Applicability to Resolving Korean Nuclear Crisis by Sergey Batsanov;
- Prospects for Nuclear Power In the Middle East: Russia's Interests by Anton Khlopkov (ed.);
- Cuban Missile Crisis: As Seen from the Inside by John Endicott and Victor Esin.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: Another Victim of US Nuclear Policy
Amid a number of nuclear nonproliferation and arms control crises (the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula, the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the INF Treaty), the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was well down the list of pressing nuclear issues – until now. Amb. Grigory Berdennikov, Head of the Russian delegation at the CTBT negotiations (1993–1996), and Asya Shavrova, CENESS Research Associate and Member of the Youth Group of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, point out that the situation with the CTBT is merely an element of the broader pattern of the arms control and nuclear nonproliferation current state of affairs, and the next two years will be a serious challenge for the Treaty.
More infoThe Future of the JCPOA and Its Impact on the Middle East
An article by Amb. Alexander Mariyasov, fmr. Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Islamic Republic of Iran, analyses hopes to save the JCPOA to live on even without US participation, and ways for Iran to alleviate the pressure of re-imposed US sanctions. Parties to the deal must demonstrate the political will and determination to offer Iran at least the bare minimum of economic advantages that would justify its own continued participation, as a collapse of the JCPOA followed by Iran's complete withdrawal from the deal would represent a major escalation of the already tense situation in the Middle East.
More infoOnce and Future Partners?
Experts disagree if the current state of US-Russian relations represents a new Cold War. Most concur, however, that the relationship between Moscow and Washington has deteriorated to a dangerous degree, arguably worse than any period since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. As such, every meeting between the US and Russian presidents will present a significant opportunity to halt, if not reverse, the downward spiral in relations.
The original article has been published in Russian in the Kommersant daily newspaper on July 10,
2018, under the title ‘Agenda for Two Presidents'.