French President Emmanuel Macron used his platform at the United Nations climate summit in New York to call for diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Macron called on the two nations to begin negotiations in order to mitigate the risk of conflict in the Arabian Gulf region, BFMTV reports.
“More than ever, the time has come for the resumption of negotiations between the United States of America, Iran, the signatories of the JCPOA [the Iranian nuclear deal] and the powers of the region concerned primarily with security and the stability of it,” Macron said.
He added that negotiations should be directed in such a way that there is total certainty that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon and said negotiations could also find a “way out” of the conflict in Yemen.
“I have no naivety and I do not believe in miracles, I believe in the courage to build peace, and I know that the United States of America, Iran, all the signatories of this agreement have this courage,” he said.
Since the G7 earlier this month in France, Macron and the French government have positioned themselves as mediators between the United States and Iran, inviting Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the G7 in a surprise visit.
Earlier this week, Macron also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for two hours, allegedly to attempt to convince the Iranian president to de-escalate tensions in the region following the attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, an attack many blame on Tehran.
President Macron also reacted to a new complaint filed to the UN by climate activists including Greta Thunberg that seeks to penalise France and four other countries for violating the rights of children due to inaction on the topic of climate change.
“I’m not sure that this is the most effective way,” Macron said and added that he did not feel that the French or German governments were blocking effective change on the issue of the climate.