Trilateral Meeting Held among Iranian, EU, US Negotiators
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iranian deputy foreign minister and one of the country's top negotiators held a trilateral meeting with Deputy EU Foreign Policy Chief Helga Schmid and the US representative in nuclear talks, Wendy Sherman, in Geneva on Thursday.
The meeting among Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi and the two other representatives was 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).
US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman stopped over en route to Russia on Thursday, and joined Araqchi and Schmid in the trilateral meeting in Geneva.
Following the trilateral talks, Araqchi, who heads a delegation of Iranian nuclear negotiators, and Sherman held a separate bilateral meeting.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister described yesterday’s talks as “very serious and technical,” saying the talks were “on the remaining differences which exist between Iran and the G5+1 on how to implement the joint plan of action.”
“What we are now trying to do is to find a common understanding and interpretation of the text" of the agreement, he added.
The negotiations are aimed at resolving two or three remaining issues regarding a Joint Action Plan signed by Iran and G5+1 in Geneva talks in November.
They two sides also hope to decide on an exact date for putting into practice the Geneva nuclear deal.
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.
Both sides have prepared themselves to start carrying out the November nuclear accord as of January 20, although a precise date will be set after Araqchi and Schmid would reach common ground on the couple of remaining issues.
