EU FMs express support to Iranian nuclear deal

BRUSSELS, Oct 16 (KUNA) -- European Union foreign ministers began a meeting in Luxembourg Monday which will focus on the Iranian nuclear deal after the decision by US President Donald Trump on Friday not to recertify the present deal but to forward it to the Congress.
"I expect from the ministers a strong united support for the EU position for a continued implementation by all sides of this agreement. We do not expect the deal to be finished. So I am not considering alternatives," EU High Representative Federica Mogherini told reporters ahead of the meeting.
UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson said "we are working as Europeans to keep the Iran nuclear deal going. The UK has long thought that it was very important for our collective security. It's good for the world. It is good for Iran." Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders said "I think the agreement we have with Iran is a very important one, a very constructive one. It's verified by the IAEA. So I think it will be a great mistake if one of the partners will go in another direction.
"The consequences will not be only for the US but also for Europe and the international community. I hope the US Congress will realize this and take the right decision," said Koenders.
Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg said ""we are geographically close to Iran and we need this deal for our security and we will stand by it." "I think that Trump's policy is isolating his country, multilateralism is being destroyed, now it's only bi-lateral talks, we have seen this also in the COP 21 agreement and we see it now with Iran. This is bad, it's a complete change in the world order since WW2," he added.
The EU foreign ministers are also expected to adopt new sanctions on North Korea. (end) nk.tg