Iran's Negotiator: Differences Remain despite Preliminary Understanding
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior member of the team of Iranian negotiators engaged in nuclear talks with world powers said the two sides have developed a preliminary understanding in New York but at the same time differences still remain for final deal.
“The focus (of the talks) is presently on how to fully use the remaining time until November 24, because conditions have been provided and arrangements have been made. A preliminary agreement exists according to whose articles another deal should be made,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said on Friday evening in New York.
Araqchi added that the negotiating parties made “good progress” on details of some technical issues in the intensive talks over the past 10 days, but noted that they have failed to reach a mutual understanding of the major issues that could serve as a basis for a final deal.
On Friday night, Iran and six world powers wrapped up the most recent round of negotiations on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program in New York without making any significant progress on the major differences.
The talks came to an end with a trilateral meeting among Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, US Secretary of State John Kerry and the EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday night.
A diplomat announced that Iran and the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China would likely meet again in the coming weeks, but no date and venue have been set.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a news conference in New York on Friday that the "progress we have witnessed in recent days has been extremely slow."
