Iranian, EU Negotiators to Fix Date for Implementation of Geneva Deal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi said he will have a meeting with EU Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Helga Schmid this week to decide on an exact date for putting into practice the Geneva nuclear deal.
Araqchi said on Monday that both Iran and the six major world powers have prepared themselves to start carrying out the November nuclear accord from January 20.
However, he noted, January 20 was just tentative, adding that a precise date will be set after the two sides reach common ground on the remaining issues.
“The date for the implementation stage of the Geneva deal would be subject to reaching mutual understanding over the remaining issues,” Araqchi said.
Earlier on Friday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi said the forthcoming meeting between Araqchi and Schmid is aimed at resolving the issues remained unresolved during earlier expert-level talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany).
He said after the remaining issues were resolved by Araqchi and Schmid, the exact date for implementation of the first step of the Joint Action Plan of the Geneva accord would be announced.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as P5+1 or E3+3) on November 24 signed a six-month deal on Tehran’s nuclear program based on which the world powers agreed to suspend some non-essential sanctions and to impose no new nuclear-related bans in return for Tehran's decision to freeze parts of its nuclear activities and to allow more inspection of its nuclear facilities.
The goal is to create a breathing space for a comprehensive agreement to be negotiated that the sides hope will be able to resolve for good the standoff over Iran's nuclear program after a decade of on-off meetings and failed attempts.
