Foreign Affairs – Iran: Q&A by Peter Stano, Lead Spokesperson of the European Commission for Foreign Affairs
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Q: human rights is always in the corner of the EU and in any bilateral negotiations human rights is always present. In recent weeks we saw new waves of arrests and oppression in Iran by the Iranian regime against prominent filmmakers such as Rasulof and Panahi. we see further atrocities against human rights activists and other human rights activists, is there any action by external action parallel to the negotiation, the atomic negotiation to what level we can engage human rights in such bilateral negotiations, and what we are going to see in response to recent atrocities?
As we see today, there are going to be announcements about the commemoration of Cuba uprising after one year. so external action is going to have an announcement on that, but we don't see quite often the same thing when it comes to Iran due to the delicacy of the negotiations with the regime. so are we going to see anything on this? thank you.
Peter Stano: thank you very much for your question. indeed, you are right that the issues of human rights are very important also in our bilateral engagement with our partners in Iran and this is something the high representative is very active in doing. he was doing it also when he was, recently in Tehran to, first of all, to discuss how to move the j.c.p.o.a.. then the talks forward, but at the same time in parallel to the j.c.p.o.a. talks, which is a different topic, of course, it's about nuclear nonproliferation. but in parallel we are also following the bilateral track, the EU-Iran bilateral track where we are also raising issues related to human rights. human rights are very important for the European Union and we always raise our voice when necessary with the partners when things are going on, things like you just mentioned the internal oppression um oppression against civil society, independent journalists, media, etc. so this is a very important element in our partnership. and we continue discussing with our partners in Iran.
When it comes to the action. of course, we cannot compare countries among themselves. each country has a specific context and specific level of relations both with the UN individual member states the statement on Cuba you mentioned was issued by twenty-seven member states or by the high presentative on behalf of the European Union. When necessary and when the member states find an agreement on the issues going on in other countries. there is always a declaration issued just in terms of practicalities or logistics. these declarations are of course agreed upon among the twenty-seven member states. But again, if there is a reason, then we always speak out loudly and publicly, but since external action series is a diplomatic institution, we prefer to tackle issues in a diplomatic way which means in talks directly with the partners, hoping that we will convey our position. how important it is to respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of your own citizens and hope for a change in treating people or in respecting the human rights and freedoms of the population.
Q: in this specific case, now we have a prize winner, Mr.Panahi, who received a prize from the same very institution that we talk about it, and also Mr.Rasulof, a prominent filmmaker. we talk about these two specific individuals. I'm not talking about the last quarter. there were a hundred executions in Iran. I'm not talking about the number of executions, but specifically about these two cases. are you going to take any action and direct action?
Peter Stano: what we do is follow the diplomatic track. so if we feel that the diplomatic track has been explored to the full extent and we need to say something in public, then we will do so. At this stage what we are trying to do is to convey our concerns to the concerns of the member states in those bilateral contacts either at the level between the EU as such and Iran or between the individual member states of the EU and Iran, because we all act in sync and you know to multiply the message and reinforce the message. this is how it's done. but as I said, diplomacy is always a preferred truck for us and when we have the feeling we want to say something in public, then we go out and say it.
Q: do you have anything new to tell us about the talks in Vienna? there are nuclear talks and when they are going to resume?
Peter Stano: I can recall that the efforts by the high representative as the coordinator of the j.c.p.o.a. and his team are continuing. you might have seen the intense contact with all the possible partners. I mentioned the visit to Tehran by the high representative not so long ago, so the diplomatic efforts are continuing with the high representative, the coordinator, and his team and we hope that it will be possible to resume the Vienna talks as soon as possible because the time is not on our side and we need to move very fast in order to bring the j.c.p.o.a away to back to its full delivery.
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