"We observe a lot of speculations regarding 'Russia's last-minute demands at the final stage of the #ViennaTalks' which allegedly block the agreement on restoration of #JCPOA. This is a lie, as I tweeted a number of times over the last week. Some demands were accepted, by the way," Ulyanov posted on Twitter.
The Russian diplomat dismissed similar speculations on Monday by saying that some participants had raised concerns over the deal.
"In light of endless speculations there is a need to recall that the conclusion of the #ViennaTalks, which is very close, doesn’t depend on Russia only. A number of other participants raised questions which need to be addressed to finalize the deal on restoration of #JCPOA," the diplomat said on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian also said that "Russia is not creating any obstacles to reaching agreements" on the JCPOA. Many Russian officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, also dismissed these allegations earlier on Tuesday.
The JCPOA was signed in 2015 by the United Kingdom, Russia, China, Germany, the United States, France, the European Union, and Iran, imposing restrictions on the advancement of the Iran nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of the US sanctions. In 2018, former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on Iran. The Iranian government responded with a gradual retreat from JCPOA obligations.
Since April 2021, Vienna has been hosting talks to restore the deal. The seventh round of Vienna talks on bringing Iran back to the nuclear deal and lifting US sanctions ended on December 17. The parties agreed on two drafts of the deal, which included provisions covering Iranian interests.
The eighth round of Vienna negotiations was launched in late December 2021 and resumed in early February after a short break.