Europe ready to finalize Geneva deal: Italy

Former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema says Europe is fully ready to finalize the Geneva deal over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

European countries are fully prepared to finalize the Geneva deal and are also encouraging the US for a final agreement, D’Alema said in an interview.

On November 24, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – Russia, China, France, Britain and the US – plus Germany inked an interim deal in the Swiss city of Geneva to set the stage for the full resolution of the dispute over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.

Underlining the need to finalize and implement the deal, D’Alema said that carrying out the Geneva agreement means that sanctions by the US and the EU against Iran need to be gradually lifted.

He said that commitment to the Geneva deal was a critical test for the EU, adding, however, that Iran, for its part, should live up to its commitments under the agreement.

He added that both the US and Iranian presidents as well as European heads of state see eye to eye on the fact that reaching a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear energy program will benefit parties to the deal.

As part of the Geneva deal, it was agreed that in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, it would be provided with a certain amount of sanctions relief and no more nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on the country for six months.