China, Russia and Iran have called for an end to US sanctions on Iran and restart of nuclear talks. Representatives of the three nations who met in Beijing today emphasized the necessity of terminating, what they called, “all unlawful unilateral sanctions”.

In a joint statement, the three countries reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on the principle of mutual respect remains the only viable and practical option for resolving the issue.

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read a joint statement, flanked by Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.

The talks are the latest attempt to broach the matter and come after U.S. President Donald Trump wrote to Iran’s supreme leader in an attempt to jumpstart talks.