PRAGUE: US Secretary of State John Kerry and foreign ministers from the six powers negotiating with Iran on its nuclear programme will travel to Vienna this weekend to help break the logjam in the talks, a Western official said yesterday.
“I can tell you that Kerry will be in Vienna this weekend, probably on Saturday,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Kerry had bilateral meetings scheduled with fellow ministers on Sunday, he said.
Iran and the powers — the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China — aim to reach a long-term deal to end the decade-old stand-off by a July 20 deadline. Many diplomats and analysts believe an extension may be needed in view of the wide gaps in negotiating positions.
Earlier this week, diplomats close to the talks said the ministers may end up negotiating the terms of an extension while in Vienna. The goal is to reach a deal on curbs for Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange to a gradual lifting of sanctions on Tehran.
The Western official said it was unlikely they were going to Vienna to sign an agreement, given the differences between the parties on the acceptable scope of Tehran’s future enrichment programme.
Another Western diplomat said: “Things have been moving but there are still wide gaps and they need to be narrowed down. This is what needs to happen in the next days.”
The West believes Iran has been seeking to develop nuclear capability to make bombs. Iran says its nuclear programme is an entirely peaceful project to generate electricity. The powers want Iran to significantly scale back its activities.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday the ongoing round of talks was tough but expressed hope that reaching a deal by the deadline was possible.
“The discussions are extremely difficult but on the face of it there is some progress,” Russian spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a news conference. “We hope to work out a final text of the agreement — despite all the difficulties — by the July 20 deadline.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday Iran would need to boost its uranium enrichment capacity in the long term, underlining a gap in positions.
REUTERS
