Foreign ministers met in Geneva on the fourth day of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, which remain mired in the same implacable issues that have prevented the signing of an accord in two previous rounds.
Iranian diplomats and their Western counterparts say they remain stuck on wording in an agreement that would address the Islamic republic’s uranium-enrichment program and its construction of a reactor in Arak.
The diplomats, speaking before today’s arrival of foreign ministers, asked not to be identified because of the talks’ sensitivity.
“They remain very difficult negotiations, I think it’s important to stress that,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters when he arrived in Geneva.
“We’re not here because things are necessarily finished. We’re here because they’re difficult, and they remain difficult.”
Foreign ministers flocked to the Swiss city for the second time in two weeks in an attempt to end the decade-long conflict that has cast the specter of war over Iran’s nuclear work. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s arrival followed those of France and Germany’s top diplomats, Laurent Fabius and Guido Westerwelle.
“Some problems still remain,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a statement handed to reporters in Geneva. “It is still too early to say if there will be a final agreement. Iran will not yield on enrichment.”
Kerry’s Goal
Kerry traveled to Geneva “in light of progress being made” at the talks and to join his counterparts “should agreement be reachDepartment spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a Twitter posting yesterday.
He will leave Geneva tomorrow for talks in London with Hague over Iran, Syria and Middle East peace, Psaki said in a statement today.
After consulting with U.S. negotiators, Kerry met with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who has been representing the six powers in talks with Iran. He then saw Fabius and Lavrov, and was expected to meet with his British and Chinese counterparts later today.
Negotiators are seeking an initial accord that would freeze some of Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanctions relief. The offer as discussed earlier would ease curbs on trade in gold, petrochemicals, cars and aircraft parts and allow access to some frozen assets.
An interim agreement would permit six months to seek a comprehensive deal intended to reassure other countries that Iran’s nuclear work is solely for peaceful purposes.
‘Tough Decisions’
Zarif’s deputy, Abbas Araghchi, told Iran’s Isna news agency there is a “quarrel over words” and he’s “not sure yet if we can achieve results tonight.” He earlier said in a Twitter statement the six powers should be “ready to make tough decisions.”
One sticking point remains how to define the parameters for Iran’s uranium enrichment, the process that yields fissile material that can be used to generate nuclear power or weapons.
Two Western diplomats from different countries said the issue could be addressed without explicitly granting Iran enrichment rights. The sides haven’t agreed on how to word the reference to Iranian enrichment, one of the diplomats said.
Zarif offered a compromise last week by saying there’s no necessity for formal recognition because the right is self-evident in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Article 4 says countries have an “inalienable right” to nuclear technology.
The Obama administration says the treaty gives no explicit right to enrichment. Arak Reactor A lack of compromise over Iran’s construction of a heavy-water reactor in Arak, which could produce plutonium for a bomb, has also caused talks to stall.
Fabius helped delay an accord at the last meeting by insisting that there be a pause in construction of the reactor. United Nations monitors subsequently reported Nov. 14 that Iran had already stopped adding key elements to the facility.
One of the Western diplomats said yesterday that the U.S. has taken a tougher position on the Arak reactor at this meeting.
Adding to pressure for a deal this weekend is concern that opponents of the plan in the U.S., Israel and Iran will seek to undermine an accord if one isn’t reached now. The current round of talks is the third in six weeks.
‘Favorable Circumstances’
“They understand that if no agreement is reached this time, it will be hard to maintain momentum,” Ali Vaez, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, the Brussels-based conflict-resolution organization, said in an interview in Geneva.
“It will be difficult recreating the favorable circumstances that exist for an accord if they cannot agree by the end of the year.” Israel and the U.S. have said they don’t rule out a military strike on Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The Persian Gulf nation of 80 million people, which has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, says it’s not seeking a nuclear bomb and wants trade sanctions lifted.
The U.S. public backs an interim agreement along the lines being considered in Geneva, with 56 percent in favor to 39 percent against, according to a poll carried out by ORC International for CNN television and published yesterday.
A possible deal “opens the door for an improving relationship” between the U.S. and Iran, Thomas Pickering, a former U.S. undersecretary of State and ambassador to the UN, said in an interview.
A failure to agree would force the six powers “to re-examine areas of difference to determine whether an arrangement can be made” or “whether more sanctions and isolation are required to get there.”
bloomberg.com
Iranian diplomats and their Western counterparts say they remain stuck on wording in an agreement that would address the Islamic republic’s uranium-enrichment program and its construction of a reactor in Arak.
The diplomats, speaking before today’s arrival of foreign ministers, asked not to be identified because of the talks’ sensitivity.
“They remain very difficult negotiations, I think it’s important to stress that,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters when he arrived in Geneva.
“We’re not here because things are necessarily finished. We’re here because they’re difficult, and they remain difficult.”
Foreign ministers flocked to the Swiss city for the second time in two weeks in an attempt to end the decade-long conflict that has cast the specter of war over Iran’s nuclear work. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s arrival followed those of France and Germany’s top diplomats, Laurent Fabius and Guido Westerwelle.
“Some problems still remain,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a statement handed to reporters in Geneva. “It is still too early to say if there will be a final agreement. Iran will not yield on enrichment.”
Kerry’s Goal
Kerry traveled to Geneva “in light of progress being made” at the talks and to join his counterparts “should agreement be reachDepartment spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a Twitter posting yesterday.
He will leave Geneva tomorrow for talks in London with Hague over Iran, Syria and Middle East peace, Psaki said in a statement today.
After consulting with U.S. negotiators, Kerry met with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who has been representing the six powers in talks with Iran. He then saw Fabius and Lavrov, and was expected to meet with his British and Chinese counterparts later today.
Negotiators are seeking an initial accord that would freeze some of Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for limited sanctions relief. The offer as discussed earlier would ease curbs on trade in gold, petrochemicals, cars and aircraft parts and allow access to some frozen assets.
An interim agreement would permit six months to seek a comprehensive deal intended to reassure other countries that Iran’s nuclear work is solely for peaceful purposes.
‘Tough Decisions’
Zarif’s deputy, Abbas Araghchi, told Iran’s Isna news agency there is a “quarrel over words” and he’s “not sure yet if we can achieve results tonight.” He earlier said in a Twitter statement the six powers should be “ready to make tough decisions.”
One sticking point remains how to define the parameters for Iran’s uranium enrichment, the process that yields fissile material that can be used to generate nuclear power or weapons.
Two Western diplomats from different countries said the issue could be addressed without explicitly granting Iran enrichment rights. The sides haven’t agreed on how to word the reference to Iranian enrichment, one of the diplomats said.
Zarif offered a compromise last week by saying there’s no necessity for formal recognition because the right is self-evident in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Article 4 says countries have an “inalienable right” to nuclear technology.
The Obama administration says the treaty gives no explicit right to enrichment. Arak Reactor A lack of compromise over Iran’s construction of a heavy-water reactor in Arak, which could produce plutonium for a bomb, has also caused talks to stall.
Fabius helped delay an accord at the last meeting by insisting that there be a pause in construction of the reactor. United Nations monitors subsequently reported Nov. 14 that Iran had already stopped adding key elements to the facility.
One of the Western diplomats said yesterday that the U.S. has taken a tougher position on the Arak reactor at this meeting.
Adding to pressure for a deal this weekend is concern that opponents of the plan in the U.S., Israel and Iran will seek to undermine an accord if one isn’t reached now. The current round of talks is the third in six weeks.
‘Favorable Circumstances’
“They understand that if no agreement is reached this time, it will be hard to maintain momentum,” Ali Vaez, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, the Brussels-based conflict-resolution organization, said in an interview in Geneva.
“It will be difficult recreating the favorable circumstances that exist for an accord if they cannot agree by the end of the year.” Israel and the U.S. have said they don’t rule out a military strike on Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The Persian Gulf nation of 80 million people, which has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, says it’s not seeking a nuclear bomb and wants trade sanctions lifted.
The U.S. public backs an interim agreement along the lines being considered in Geneva, with 56 percent in favor to 39 percent against, according to a poll carried out by ORC International for CNN television and published yesterday.
A possible deal “opens the door for an improving relationship” between the U.S. and Iran, Thomas Pickering, a former U.S. undersecretary of State and ambassador to the UN, said in an interview.
A failure to agree would force the six powers “to re-examine areas of difference to determine whether an arrangement can be made” or “whether more sanctions and isolation are required to get there.”
bloomberg.com
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