Page 9 - MEOG Week 05 2022

MEOG POLICY & SECURITY MEOG

Vienna talks pause as deal seen possible

IRAN THE Vienna talks on reviving the 2015 Joint House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk said on
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) January 27 that Tehran and Washington were “in
between Iran and major powers broke up on the ballpark of a possible deal”.
January 28 to allow delegates to return for con- US diplomats continue to press for direct face
sultations with their respective governments. to face talks with their Iranian counterparts at
The EU and Russia said now was the time for the talks. Discussions between Iran and the US
political decisions. have so far taken place indirectly, with the EU
The talks resumed in December, with all orig- acting as an intermediary.
inal JCPOA signatories – Iran, the US, France, In May 2918, then US president Donald
Germany, the UK, China and Russia – looking to Trump pulled Washington out of the JCPOA
find a path to restarting the deal that curbs Iran’s and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran. In
nuclear development activities to ensure they are response Tehran began to gradually increase its
kept entirely civilian in return for the lifting of nuclear activities to a level beyond limits permit-
heavy sanctions. ted by the JCPOA.
“Participants will go back to capitals for con- Key issues that the Vienna talks have not yet
sultations [with] instructions to come back next solved are the speed and scope of lifting sanc-
week,” the EU’s senior envoy Enrique Mora said tions on Tehran, including Iran’s demand for a
as the talks broke up. “Political decisions are US guarantee it will not violate the agreement
needed now.” again, a dilemma as US President Joe Biden is
Russia’s envoy to the talks Mikhail Ulyanov not able to tie his successor’s hands.
said negotiations were at an “advanced stage”. The talks are also moving slowly in relations
Earlier last week, he said an agreement for a to technical details on how and when exactly to
revived deal by the end of February was “quite bring back curbs on Iran’s atomic work. It has
realistic”. advanced significantly since the US withdrew
The US too has shown some optimism. White from the accord.™

Gas to Europe up for discussion

between Israel, Turkey

ISRAEL/TURKEY AN attempt by Turkey to revive a proposal for Israel. Israel responded in kind.
the export of Israeli gas to Europe via a Turk- Turkey’s renewed interest in pushing its pro-
ish hub looks set to be on the agenda for an ject to deliver Israeli gas to Europe appears to
expected February visit to Ankara by Israel’s have been sparked by the US withdrawing sup-
president, Isaac Herzog—although analysts are port for the EastMed pipeline, a project designed
not convinced the project would be commer- to transit gas from Israel to European states via
cially sound. Cyprus and Greece.
In an interview with private NTV broad- The US State Department framed the deci-
caster late on January 26, Turkish President sion as part of the move away from carbon-in-
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his Israeli counter- tensive projects and towards cleaner energy
part would visit in the first half of February. alternatives.
Ties between Turkey and Israel have grown After the rejection outlined by the US, Erdo-
tense under Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Isra- gan told reporters: “This business [of transiting
el’s policies toward the Palestinians. Israeli gas] cannot be done without Turkey.
However, Erdogan said: “With this visit, Because if [gas] will be transferred to Europe
a new era can begin in the Israeli and Turkish from here, it will only happen through Turkey.”
relationship.” However, Charles Ellinas of the Atlantic
The countries withdrew their ambassadors in Council on January 27 expressed scepticism at
2010 after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza-bound the possibility of a Turkish-Israeli solution, tell-
flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for the Pales- ing Ahval it was “far-fetched”.
tinians that breached an Israeli blockade. Nine Even in the unlikely event that Tel Aviv
Turkish activists died in the incident. agreed to the proposal, it would still face many
Relations broke down again in 2018, after of the same challenges that ended the prospects
Turkey, protesting at the US moving its embassy for the EastMed pipeline, he was cited as saying,
to Jerusalem, once more recalled its envoy from adding: “It’s not commercially viable.”™

Week 05 02•February•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9