Beijing meeting on Iran's nuclear issue backs rule of law, multilateralism: Iranian official

TEHRAN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The recent Beijing meeting between China, Russia, and Iran on the Iranian nuclear issue has helped lay the cornerstone for backing the rule of law at the international level and promoting multilateralism, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday.

"In the meeting, the cornerstone was laid for a constructive and fruitful process for the three countries as well as supporting the rule of law at the international level and promoting multilateralism," Baghaei told a weekly press conference.

Expressing gratitude to China for hosting the meeting and to Russia for its participation, Baghaei said such meetings will continue in the future.

China always plays a "constructive and contributing" role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and as part of the negotiation processes pertaining to the Iranian nuclear issue, he added.

On Friday, deputy foreign ministers of China, Russia and Iran held a meeting in Beijing in a fresh bid to strengthen communication and pave the way for the resumption of talks concerning the Iranian nuclear issue.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the three countries emphasized the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions, and reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on the principle of mutual respect remains the only viable and practical option.

China and Russia welcomed Iran's reiteration that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes, and not for development of nuclear weapons, and also welcomed Iran's commitment to full compliance with its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and Comprehensive Safeguard Agreement, supported Iran's policy to continue cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and stressed the need to fully respect Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy as a State Party to the NPT.

In July 2015, Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

However, during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term of office, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments.