JOHANNESBURG: India and four other member nations of the BRICS grouping today urged all parties to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal to fully comply with their obligations and ensure the full implementation of the agreement to promote global and regional peace and security.
Iran agreed a long-term deal on its nuclear programme with the P5+1 group of world powers - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany in 2015 under which Tehran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.
In May, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear agreement struck by the previous Obama administration by calling it the "the worst" deal ever negotiated.
The US is also pressuring all nations to stop importing oil from Iran by November 4 to ramp up sanctions on Tehran.
At the BRICS Summit here, India, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, signed the Johannesburg Declaration, took note of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear programme.
"We call upon all parties to fully comply with their obligations and ensure full and effective implementation of the JCPOA to promote international and regional peace and security," it said.
The 2015 deal was struck after years of tension over Iran's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran insists that its nuclear programme was entirely peaceful.
The Johannesburg Declaration also welcomed the recent developments to achieve the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and maintain peace and stability in North East Asia.
"We reaffirm the commitment for a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation," the declaration said, weeks after President Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore for a historic summit on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
On Afghanistan, the Declaration said, "We reaffirm our support for the process of an "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned" national peace and reconciliation process.
The grouping expressed its concern over the "deteriorating" situation in Afghanistan particularly the increase in the number and intensity of terrorist-related attacks on the Afghan security forces, the Government and civilians.
"We call on the international community to assist the government and the people of Afghanistan with the objective of working towards the realisation of peace," it says.
On the issue of Syria, the Johannesburg Declaration reaffirmed the commitment of the BRICS nations for a political resolution of the conflict through an inclusive "Syrian-led, Syrian-owned" political process that safeguards the state sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria.
The grouping also reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges.
In the Declaration, China and Russia, both UN Security Council members, reiterated the importance they attached to the status and role of Brazil, India and South Africa in international affairs and supported their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN.
The Declaration also reaffirmed the commitment of the BRICS grouping to the strengthening of multilateral institutions of global governance to ensure that they are able to comprehensively address global challenges.
The grouping also reiterated its commitment to shaping a more fair, just and representative multi-polar international order to the shared benefit of the humanity.
"We emphasise the indivisible nature of peace and security and reiterate that no country should enhance its security at the expense of the security of others," the Johannesburg Declaration says.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi represented India at the BRICS Summit.