Putin Welcomes European Efforts to Save Iran Nuclear Deal

• Putin Welcomes European Efforts to Save Iran Nuclear Deal
  by Michel Rose, Denis Pinchuk, https://www.reuters.com/
  ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia appreciated efforts by Europe to save the Iran nuclear deal despite the withdrawal of the United States and warned of “lamentable consequences” if it was not preserved.
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  Putin made the comment in a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, offering some support for the French leader’s plan for negotiating a broader agreement with Tehran to cover Iran’s ballistics program and its activities in the Middle East.
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  Macron met Putin seeking to win concessions on Syria, Iran and Ukraine after returning largely empty-handed from a state visit to the United States. “Certainly we can discuss Iran’s ballistic missiles. We can discuss Iran’s policies in the Middle East and its nuclear activities after 2025,” Putin said.
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  “But we cannot make preserving the Iranian nuclear deal dependent on these three parameters because if we do, it means that we too are withdrawing from the accord because the deal that exists foresees no additional conditions.”
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  A Macron adviser hailed Putin’s comments as a “key” point of convergence between Paris and Moscow as the Trump administration urges its European allies to sever economic ties with Iran.
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  After talks that ran long over schedule, Macron and Trump entered the news conference looking relaxed and smiling. Macron acknowledged Paris and Moscow disagreed on a range of issues but called for “strong multilateralism”.
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