French President Emmanuel Macron has said the conditions for the leaders of the United States and Iran to meet were now in place, but the ball was now in their court to make it happen.
In remarks on Tuesday, Macron said “I believe that the conditions in this context for a rapid return to negotiations have been created.”
He also added that “It’s now up to the Iranians and the United States to seize these conditions and work together to relaunch momentum.”
The French leader has been pushing to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran over the last few weeks, especially after an attack on Saudi oil facilities on Sept 14. that the United States, Europe and Saudi Arabia have blamed on Iran.
“There is a common desire to progress and to not just find the terms of a de-escalation, but build a long-term accord,” Macron told reporters before heading back to Paris from New York, where he attended the annual United Nations General Assembly. “But it depends on the will of both sides.”
When asked whether he thought they could still meet this week, Macron urged the two leaders to not miss the chance.
“I don’t think in the coming weeks and months there will be an opportunity for him (Rouhani) to come back to the U.S., and I don’t think President Trump will be going to Tehran,” he said.
“It’s a physical opportunity to seize because I think the best way to start a negotiation is to have a meeting, have a frank discussion between the two main protagonists,” Macron said.