In China, Macron eyes bigger role for France on Iran and Middle East
On the sideline of French efforts to construct a healthy economic relationship with the Chinese giant, Paris also signals it is willing to cooperate with Beijing on talks regarding Iran's nuclear program.
PARIS — A joint statement by French President Emmanuel Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last Friday referred among other things to common efforts for reviving the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with Iran that was signed in 2015 but stalled following the US withdrawal from the agreement in 2018.
The statement noted that both countries "reiterate their commitment to promoting a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue," adding that France and China pledge to work together to preserve the international nuclear nonproliferation regime and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
On Thursday, while accompanying Macron on his China visit, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna met in Beijing with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a rare first meeting between the two.
A statement by the French Foreign Ministry said that Colonna reiterated France's demand for the immediate release of six French nationals detained arbitrarily by Iran and that the conversation addressed the situation in Iran, various regional issues and the Iranian nuclear program. Asked by Al-Monitor, the ministry refused to offer any more details on the meeting or to assert whether any other meetings between French and Iranian diplomats are scheduled for the near future.
