Former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel has said that the European Union, Russia and China should stand against the U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and defend international legal norms by challenging the decision in the UN and World Trade Organization (WTO).

“Europe, Russia, China, international traders should stand up and challenge the American decision in the United Nations and in the WTO. We have to stand up against it. It's a question of principle. After World War II, we created a very positive empire of norms, and we should defend these norms and standards,” he told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Primakov Readings international forum in Moscow on Tuesday.

The former chancellor said that the Iran nuclear deal was a binding multilateral agreement, and Washington’s withdrawal constituted a violation of international norms.

Schuessel noted the act of imposing extra-territorial U.S. sanctions on companies or countries dealing with Iran violated international law.

“If we all stand up, it will have effects on the American politics, because America is not Trump. There [are] also the Senate, the Congress, the public opinion, non-governmental organizations, civil society, financial markets,” he said.

On May 8, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the UN-endorsed nuclear agreement and vowed to reimpose sanctions on Iran.

After the U.S. withdrawal, Iran wants assurances from the remaining parties, especially Europeans, that its interests are guaranteed or it will resume nuclear activities with a higher speed.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, issued a statement on May 18, saying that the 28-nation bloc is united in preserving the international nuclear deal.

NA/PA