Iran, P5+1 continue talks in Geneva

Nuclear negotiators from Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Russia, China, France, Britain and the United States -- plus Germany held extensive meetings for the second consecutive day in Geneva on Tuesday.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi gave a positive assessment of the dominant atmosphere of the Geneva negotiations.

We have had “detailed discussions about all outstanding issues, especially sanctions, in the deputy and expert-level talks,” Araqchi said on Tuesday.

“There are solutions to some of the issues and at some stages more discussions should be held and more efforts should be made,” the senior Iranian diplomat added.

This round of the talks, the first after the seven-month extension of the nuclear talks, will continue on Wednesday three weeks after Tehran and the six countries failed to reach a final agreement by a November 24 deadline.

Despite making progress, Iran and the P5+1 group failed to clinch a final nuclear deal during their previous talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

However, the two sides agreed to extend their discussions for seven more months until July 1, 2015. They also agreed that the interim deal they had signed in Geneva last November remain in place during the negotiations.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that the West has no other choice but to lift the "cruel" sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
/SR