MOSCOW, August 19. /TASS/: The refusal of the United States to participate in an online summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and Iran aimed to discuss issues of implementation the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program makes it impossible to hold it as envisioned and proposed by Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday.
"Indeed, the US rejection [of the idea] does not allow us to gather in this format as it was proposed from the start," he said, answering the corresponding question.
"However, it does not mean that the dialogue with the other states is halted on the Iranian issue. This dialogue for the sake of viability of the JCPOA and for the sake of settlement will definitely be continued," Peskov added.
On August 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding an online summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Germany and Iran soon to focus on the JCPOA implementation issues. The Russian leader’s statement notes that the aim of the meeting is to "set out steps to avoid confrontation and tensions in the UN Security Council." Later, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington is unlikely to join the summit on Iran before the end of the presidential election.
