Iran’s Zarif to Attend Oslo Forum 2016

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13941027133320476921094Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will travel to Norway next week to partake in the 2016 edition of the Oslo Forum, an annual international conference of armed conflict mediators and peace process actors.

The top Iranian diplomat is going to join around 100 other prominent mediators of armed conflict and peace process actors from around the world in Oslo on June 14 and 15 to share their experiences of peacemaking.

The forum is organized jointly by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), a private diplomacy and conflict mediation organization.

It brings together senior conflict mediators, major actors in peace processes, key decision-makers and eminent thinkers on an annual basis to reflect on current peace processes and to strengthen the practice of conflict mediation internationally.

Other participants at the gathering will include US Secretary of State John Kerry and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan K. Eliasson as well as the foreign ministers of Kenya, Lebanon, Mongolia and New Zealand will also attend the forum.

The two-day event will feature panel discussions, debates and roundtable sessions on a variety of topics.

It is not still clear whether Zarif will hold meetings with Kerry and Mogherini on the sidelines of the conference to discuss the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

While the JCPOA came into force in January, some Iranian officials complain about the US failure to fully implement the accord.

In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency in April, Mogherini said the EU has been holding talks with the US to remove the obstacles in the way of banks trying to get into Iran after implementation of the nuclear deal.

Back in March, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Americans have yet to fulfill what they were supposed to do as per the nuclear deal.

Iran still has problems in its banking transactions or in restoring its frozen assets, because Western countries and those involved in such processes are afraid of Americans, the Leader said at the time, criticizing the US for its moves to prevent Iran from taking advantage of the sanctions removal.

(Tasnim)

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