France, Britain, and Germany alerted Russia Saturday to the fact that Iran’s demands for trade guarantees with them could lead to the end of a nearly-completed nuclear agreement.

Talks to restore the JCPOA have now reached its final stage. [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]The deal lifted sanctions against Iran in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. This was long considered by the West to be a cover for developing atomic weapons.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, demanded last Saturday broad guarantees from Iran that Russian trade would not be affected due to the Moscow sanctions. 

“Nobody should seek to exploit JCPOA negotiations to obtain assurances that are separate to the JCPOA,” France, Britain and Germany — the so-called E3 European parties to the 2015 accord — said in a joint statement.

According to them, “This could lead to the breakdown of the deal.”

According to them, the agreement should be reached as quickly as possible.

Washington has repeatedly stated it is not going to comply with Russia’s demands.

These 11-month-old talks are designed to get Iran into compliance with its agreement’s limitations on rapidly-advancing nuclear activities. They also aim to bring back the United States into the 2018 accord that it left under President Donald Trump.

The oil markets closely monitor the developments of negotiations to determine if Iranian crude export restrictions might be removed. This could reduce disruptions to supply from Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.