Current Nuke talks’ outcome would be joint statement, not agreement

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 2

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

Iran and P5+1 will announce a joint statement today if progress is achieved in ongoing nuclear talks, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif said April 2.

However he underlined that the exact time for issuing the statement is not clear.

The P5+1(the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) members need more confers among themselves, the Iranian FM added.

“If the parties reach an agreement over the solutions a joint statement will be announce today by me and Federica Mogherini, high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,” zarif said, adding then drafting the comprehensive agreement will start.

Zarif further said that significant progress in nuclear talks is made, but no agreement on solutions achieved yet, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported April 2.

Zarif and the P5+1 foreign ministers held a new round of negotiations today morning in Lausanne, Switzerland on the 9th day of the nuclear talks.

The Chinese and Russian foreign ministers are absent in the ongoing talks and are represented by deputy foreign ministers.

The meeting came after Zarif and his US counterpart John Kerry ended another round of mutual talks.

Zarif said that main part of differences over the lifting sanctions against Iran has been settled.

The only point of disagreement is the issue of Iran's nuclear program research and development, he said, adding Tehran insists using advanced centrifuges.

Iran and the P5+1 are negotiating in Lausanne to achieve a comprehensive agreement on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program by July 1.

They were to reach a political understanding by March 31, but the negotiators decided to continue their talks on April 1. The talks extended to April 2 after the parties failed to achieve an agreement.

The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon, something that Iran denies.

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