Søreide hopes the Iran agreement survives

Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide.Photo: Ørn E. Borgen / NTB scanpix

Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide advises both the United States and Iran against withdrawing from the nuclear agreement.

 

“We must be clear that we believe the nuclear agreement must be maintained. We believe it is important for global security,” says Søreide to NTB.

She believes it is still unclear what conclusions can be drawn from the discussions between US President Donald Trump and France’s President Emmanuel Macron this week.

She even discussed the matter with EU Secretary of State Federica Mogherini on the sidelines of the Geo conference for Syria in Brussels on Wednesday. On Tuesday, she also spoke directly with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

“I was very clear to Iran’s foreign minister, as well to the Americans on the importance of being in the agreement,” says Søreide.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the agreement, and a decision is expected by May 12th. Iran has announced that they will also withdraw if the United States does.

Other countries have so far called for the agreement, but after meeting Trump this week, Macron had significant doubts about the way forward by agreeing a new deal with Iran. According to him, the new agreement will be an addendum to the existing nuclear agreement, which entered into force in 2016.

Søreide does not dare to predict the outcome, but says it is positive if it is possible to negotiate an addition to the agreement that helps to strengthen it.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today