-
Iranian officials say talks with world powers on the country's
nuclear programme in Geneva have reached a "critical" stage, as US
Secretary of State John Kerry and his European counterparts held
negotiations with Iran's top diplomats late into the night.Talks between the Iranian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Javed Zarif, US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU Foreign Affairs chief Catherine Ashton concluded on Friday night with no deal yet signed, but with all sides hailing the progress that was made throughout Friday's negotiations.
"We are reaching a very critical important point,'' Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in comments broadcast on Iranian PressTV before the meeting.
"The negotiations have reached its critical, very sensitive situation, and it needs decisions at higher levels," he said, a reference to the arrival of the foreign ministers.
Talks are set to continue for a third day on Saturday, officials said.
'Important gaps'
Before meeting Zarif on Friday night, Kerry said that significant differences between Iran and six world powers trying to fashion the nuclear agreement remained, as he and three European foreign ministers added their weight to try to narrow the gap.
"I want to emphasise there is not an agreement at this point," Kerry said shortly after arriving in Geneva, tempering rising anticipation of a breakthrough.
"We hope to try to narrow these differences but I don't think anybody should mistake there are some important gaps that have to be closed," he told reporters.
Kerry met his European counterparts before joint talks with Zarif, and Ashton, the EU's top diplomat, who has convened the talks.
Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from Geneva, said: "There are also reports that the Chinese foreign minister will be here. It will mean the whole of P5+1, all will be represented at foreign minister-level. It shows they believe that possibly, with a nudge, they can get some sort of a historic deal."
France's foreign minister said that major questions still remained to be answered during the talks.
"France wants a credible accord on Iran's nuclear programme," Laurent Fabius said in a statement sent to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Iran has told Western powers that it wanted them to consider easing oil and banking sanctions during the first phase of any interim nuclear deal they agree to, an Iranian delegate at the talks said on Friday.
"We have announced to the West that in the first phase the issue of banking and oil sanctions must be considered," Majid Takht-Ravanchi, a member of Iran's negotiating team in Geneva, was quoted as saying by Iran's Mehr news agency.
Rollback of sanctions
The talks primarily focus on the size and output of Iran's enrichment programme, which can create both reactor fuel and weapons-grade material suitable for a nuclear bomb.
Iran insists it is pursuing only nuclear energy, medical treatments and research, but the United States and its allies fear that Iran could turn this material into the fissile core of nuclear warheads.
Six powers - the negotiators also include Russia and China – are considering a gradual rollback of sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.
In exchange they demand initial curbs on Iran's nuclear programme, including a cap on enrichment to a level that can be turned quickly to weapons use.
But their proposal would maintain core sanctions on Iran's oil exports and financial sector, as an incentive for Iran to work toward a comprehensive and permanent nuclear accord.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who spoke of "a chance for reaching agreement on a common approach" despite the remaining differences, is heading to Geneva to attend the talks.
aljazeera.com
9/11/13
--
-
Iran agrees to further nuclear talks. -Foreign minister's presence in meeting at UN marks highest-level direct Iran-US contact in decades.
--
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Nucléaire iranien : selon Fabius, il n'y a "aucune certitude" sur la réussite des négociations...Les négociations sur le nucléaire iranien ont été prolongées d'une journée. Et cinq ministres des Affaires étrangères ont choisi de venir à Genève.....
ReplyDeleteUn accord va-t-il être trouvé sur le nucléaire iranien ? Après une décennie de blocage, les Etats-Unis , la France, l'Allemagne, la Grande-Bretagne, la Russie, la Chine et l'Iran se retrouvent samedi 9 novembre à Genève (Suisse) pour un troisième jour de négociations sur le programme nucléaire de Téhéran.
Signe de la volonté d'aboutir à un accord, cinq ministres des Affaires étrangères (Russie, Etats-Unis, France, Allemagne, Grande-Bretagne) ont choisi de venir de manière impromptue en Suisse épauler leurs négociateurs. A l'origine, ces derniers ne devaient discuter que pendant deux jours. Samedi, "nous comptons parvenir au résultat à long terme qu'attend le monde entier", a résumé Sergueï Riabkov, vice-ministre russe des Affaires étrangères.
Fabius reste prudent
Un accord permettrait de rétablir un climat de confiance entre Téhéran, soumis à une série de sanctions internationales, et les six puissances chargées du dossier nucléaire iranien, qui soupçonnent l'Iran de vouloir acquérir l'arme atomique sous couvert d'un programme nucléaire civil. En échange d'un allègement de sanctions, l'Iran pourrait s'engager à suspendre en partie ou totalement son enrichissement d'uranium, actuellement mené à 3,5% et à 20% et qui, poussé à 90%, permet de créer une arme atomique.
Trois écueils, selon la délégation française, mobilisent encore les négociateurs : le devenir du stock d'uranium iranien enrichi à 20%, celui du site d'Arak où les Iraniens construisent un réacteur à eau lourde (deuxième filière avec l'enrichissement permettant de fabriquer une arme nucléaire) et "la question de la perspective d'enrichissement d'uranium pour l'Iran à plus long terme".
Mais le ministre des Affaires étrangères, Laurent Fabius, multiplie les déclarations de prudence. "Il y a un texte initial que nous n'acceptons pas (...) je n'ai aucune certitude qu'on puisse conclure à l'heure où je vous parle", a déclaré samedi matin le ministre sur France Inter. Soulevant le problème du stock d'uranium à 20% et les inquiétudes d'Israël, Laurent Fabius a estimé que "si ces questions-là ne sont pas réglées, ce ne sera pas possible". S'il veut un accord, il met en garde contre "un jeu de dupes".
http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/proche-orient/nucleaire-iranien-selon-fabius-il-n-y-a-aucune-certitude-sur-la-reussite-des-negociations_454570.html#xtor=RSS-3-[lestitres]
9/11/13
Israeli PM to Kerry: We won't be bound by agreement with Iran.....
ReplyDeleteJERUSALEM, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israel will not be bound to any agreements reached between Iran and the six world powers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry prior to his departure from Israel on Friday.
Netanyahu met with Kerry at the airport on Friday morning, just before Kerry was to continue on to Geneva to join the talks between Iran and the Western countries.
The meeting was described as "tense" with Netanyahu saying before it that Israel vehemently opposes the apparent deal that seems to come into play on the Iranian nuclear plan.
"I hear that the Iranians are walking in Geneva with a smile on their faces, and they have good reason for it," Netanyahu said, according to a statement by the Prime Minister's Office.
"They got everything they wanted and gave nothing. They'll get a decrease in sanctions but they won't reduce their enrichment capabilities, so Iran got the deal of the century," the prime minister added.
"Israel rejects this plan completely... Israel will not be committed to such an agreement and will do whatever is necessary to protect itself," he said.
Netanyahu also tied that sentiment to the peace process with the Palestinians, and said that Israel, on this topic as well, will "not compromise on its safety and vital interests up against international pressure."
"No amount of pressure will make me or the Israeli government compromise on the security and national interests of Israel," he said in that respect.
Kerry expanded his stay in the Mideast on Thursday to try and salvage the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but decided to join world powers in Geneva after an invitation by the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton.
Kerry's eighth visit to the region started on Wednesday with shuttle diplomacy between Jerusalem and Ramallah to overcome major roadblocks in the talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Another topic on the agenda was the Iranian nuclear plan, with Israel insisting on the need to keep sanctions intact so Iran will back off from developing nuclear capabilities. xinhuanet.com
8/11/13
Secretary John Kerry opposed a draft deal on Iran’s nuclear program during high-profile talks in Geneva, a source at the negotiations told RIA Novosti on Saturday.....
ReplyDeleteKerry held a snap meeting late Friday with representatives of Iran and the 5+1 group of international negotiators, which includes lower-ranking US diplomats.
Iran and the 5+1, which also comprises Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany, earlier drafted a step-by-step deal to lift sanctions against Tehran in exchange for a partial freeze of the Iranian nuclear program.
Kerry was to discuss the matter further on Saturday with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
The talks in Geneva were expected to break the lengthy stalemate on Iran’s nuclear program, whose peaceful nature is questioned by Western powers and Israel.
But the head of the French Foreign Ministry, Laurent Fabius, said Saturday that the Geneva talks may not end in a deal.
Iranian diplomats said earlier Tehran was ready for another round of talks in case the ongoing meeting yields no result.
Iran proposed last month to stop enriching uranium to 20 percent in exchange for lifting of sanctions starting with its banking industry and oil exports.
http://en.ria.ru/world/20131109/184607498/Kerry-Opposes-Draft-Plan-on-Iran-in-Geneva--Source.html
9/11/13
Iran nuclear talks stretch into third day ...
ReplyDeleteTalks between Iran and six world powers over Tehran’s nuclear programme continued into a third day on Saturday amid rising hopes a deal can be reached, though US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that key issues remain "unresolved".
By News Wires (text)
Talks between Iran and world powers stretched into a third day on Saturday as top diplomats pressed for a deal on Tehran's nuclear programme, warning that major obstacles remain.
After cutting short a Middle East tour to attend the talks, US Secretary of State John Kerry struck a note of caution as he joined his British, French and German counterparts who converged on Geneva on Friday.
"There is not an agreement at this point," Kerry told reporters. "There are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved."
But hopes were rising for a deal, especially as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was expected to arrive in Geneva on Saturday.
Lavrov's arrival would bring together the foreign ministers of all but one of the six world powers that have been negotiating for a decade with Iran over its nuclear programme.
Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton, who has represented world powers at the talks, held a long meeting late into the night on Friday.
It broke up around 11:30 pm local time (1030 GMT), with Kerry saying afterward only that it had involved "a lot of work".
"Over the course of the evening, we continued to make progress as we worked to narrow the gaps. There is more work to do. The meetings will resume tomorrow morning," a senior State Department official said.
"The meeting was productive but we still have lots of work to do," Iran's lead negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, also said after the talks, confirming the negotiations would continue on Saturday.
If some sort of agreement is reached, it would be a breakthrough after a decade of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group comprising the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
The hoped-for agreement -- seen as a first step ahead of further talks on a final deal -- could see Tehran freeze its nuclear efforts for as long as six months in exchange for some relief from the sanctions that have battered its economy.
Reports say the proposed deal could see Tehran stop enriching uranium to 20 percent, which is just a few technical steps from weapons grade, reduce existing stockpiles and agree not to activate its plutonium reactor at Arak.
Global powers would in exchange take limited and "reversible" measures to ease sanctions, such as unfreezing some Iranian funds in foreign accounts.
'Deal of the century'
Negotiators would then have time to work out a more comprehensive deal that Tehran has said it hopes could be in place within a year................http://www.france24.com/en/20131108-key-issues-unresolved-iran-nuclear-talks-kerry-geneva?ns_campaign=editorial&ns_source=RSS_public&ns_mchannel=RSS&ns_fee=0&ns_linkname=20131108_key_issues_unresolved_iran_nuclear_talks
9/11/13