Iranian Negotiator: Nuclear Talks with US “Useful”
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A top Iranian diplomat said the country’s nuclear negotiators have held “useful” bilateral talks with the US team in Geneva, and expressed the hope that progress would be made before the next round of nuclear negotiations with six world powers, slated for September 18 in New York.
Negotiators representing Iran and the US have started a three-day round of talks in the Swiss city of Geneva since Thursday.
The gathering is part of regular bilateral meetings between Iran and the members of the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) which are negotiating to settle a decade-long standoff on Tehran’s nuclear work.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi, who leads the Iranian team, announced on Friday that the talks have been useful, hoping that they would “help resolve the differences.”
“However, we are still far away from settlement of the issues,” he added.
Araqchi also confirmed that the next round of negotiations between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) will be held in the US city of New York on September 18.
Iran and the sextet are currently in talks to work out a lasting accord aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear activities.
Last November, the two sides signed an interim deal in Geneva, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20. In July, Tehran and the six countries agreed to extend negotiations until November 24 after they failed to reach common ground on a number of key issues.
