China, Russia and Iran call for end to US sanctions on Iran and the restart of nuclear talks

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Representatives of China, Russia and Iran called Friday for an end to U.S. sanctions on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program and a restart to multinational talks on the issue.

The talks are the latest attempt to broach the matter and come after U.S. President Donald Trump wrote to Iran’s supreme leader in an attempt to jumpstart talks.

The letter, which hasn’t been published, was offered as Trump levied new sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign that holds out the possibility of military action while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached.

The three nations who met Friday morning “emphasized the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read from a joint statement, flanked by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.

“The three countries reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on the principle of mutual respect remains the only viable and practical option in this regard,” Ma read.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was due to meet with the representatives later in the day.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has mocked Trump, saying he wasn’t interested in talks with a “bullying government,” although Iranian officials have offered conflicting signals over the possibility of negotiations. Trump sent a letter to Khamenei in 2019 with no apparent effect on rising tensions.

China and Russia are both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with France and Britain, that took part in the original 2015 Iran nuclear deal preliminary framework agreement alongside Germany and the