Nuclear Talks at Critical Juncture: Iranian Negotiator
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister and one of the country’s top nuclear negotiators, said the ongoing talks with six world powers over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program have neared “critical stages”.
“The nuclear negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) have approached critical stages and the process of the talks will continue with a greater acceleration in the coming days,” Araqchi said on Tuesday.
“There are still some differences of opinion between parties regarding the issues raised in the nuclear talks, however, we are optimistic and hopeful,” he said.
He made it clear that reaching a final and comprehensive agreement depends on the other side’s “goodwill” and commitment to respect Iran’s “legitimate rights, on the basis of international treaties”.
The Iranian deputy minister also emphasized that the Islamic Republic is seeking to continue the talks with seriousness and goodwill.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are in talks to hammer out a final agreement to end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
In the latest round of negotiations, deputy foreign ministers from Iran and the European members of the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UNSC members plus Germany) held a one-day round of talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday.
Araqchi had described the talks a difficult "Marathon", but said an interim agreement could be reached by March.
Following an interim nuclear deal signed in Geneva in November 2013, two deadlines for a final, comprehensive deal have been missed, and now a third one is looming on July 1.
