Representatives of China, Russia and Iran called Friday for an end to US sanctions on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program and a restart to multinational talks on the issue.
The talks are the latest attempt to broach the matter and come after US President Donald Trump wrote to Iran's supreme leader in an attempt to jumpstart talks.
The letter, which hasn't been published, was offered as Trump levied new sanctions on Iran as part of his maximum pressure campaign that holds out the possibility of military action while emphasising he still believed a new deal could be reached.
The three nations who met Friday morning emphasised the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions, China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read from a joint statement, flanked by Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.
The three countries reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on t