Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says a final deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries over Tehran’s nuclear program is "within reach."
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"The situation at the talks is progressing in a positive direction. There remain questions, mostly regarding procedural issues rather than technical. We have all reason to believe that results are within reach," Lavrov said after a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in the Austrian capital of Vienna, the venue of talks between Iran and the P5+1, on Tuesday.
He added that the implementation of any potential agreement and its presentation to the UN Security Council are among the outstanding issues.
Lavrov noted that the deputies and political directors of the six global powers have been instructed “to do everything necessary to reach an agreement in the upcoming days."
Lavrov on Tuesday also held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Iran FM’s meetings
The Iranian foreign minister on Tuesday held separate meetings with Kerry, his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano in Vienna.
Meanwhile, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz also held discussions about technical issues related to a possible final deal.
US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said earlier on Tuesday that Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany have agreed to continue their talks until July 7 to finalize the text of a possible deal over Iran’s nuclear program. The two sides had earlier set a deadline of June 30 for the talks.
The European Union also extended a freeze on sanctions imposed against Iran by one week "to allow more time for the ongoing negotiations to reach a long term solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.”
/SR
