Russia: Level of Iran Enrichment to Be Discussed in Final Stage of Talks


VIENNA (Tasnim) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and senior nuclear negotiator Sergei Rybakov said the level of uranium enrichment in Iran’s nuclear program would be discussed in the final stages of the negotiations between Tehran and six world powers.

Rybakov made the comments in an interview with Tasnim correspondent in the Austrian capital city of Vienna.

He said there has been no change in the Western countries’ positions regarding the issue of enrichment.

The senior Russian diplomat also said there remains some differences over the number of centrifuges that Iran can possess.

Asked about the final nuclear deal between Iran and world six powers, Rybakov said the drafting of the document has almost started.

He also called the bilateral meeting between Iranian and Russian representatives in Vienna as constructive.

The Iranian delegation held separate talks with Russian and Chinese teams on Tuesday morning.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (alternatively known as the P5+1 or E3+3) inked an interim deal on Tehran’s nuclear program in Geneva last November, which came into force on January 20. The interim deal (the Joint Plan of Action) stipulates that over the course of six months (July 20), the parties will draw up a comprehensive nuclear deal which will lead to a lifting of the whole sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) started new round of high-profile negotiations in the Austrian capital on June 16.

The five-day negotiations are aimed at drafting a comprehensive deal to resolve the decade-long standoff over Tehran's peaceful nuclear energy program.