Iran to Hold Separate N. Talks with US, Russia ahead of Vienna Negotiations
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian nuclear negotiators are set to hold separate bilateral meetings with delegations from Russia and the US before a fresh round of nuclear talks between Tehran and the sextet of world powers in Vienna.
The talks are expected to be held at the deputy foreign minister level.
According to media reports, US Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will lead a US delegation to meet with Iranian nuclear negotiators in Geneva on June 9-10, US and Iranian officials said Saturday.
Similar media reports also quoted a senior US administration official as saying Saturday that the US-Iran consultations “come at an important juncture” of the nuclear negotiations.
“We believe we need to engage in as much active diplomacy as we can to test whether we can reach a diplomatic solution with Iran on its nuclear program."
Iranians will later hold another meeting with a Russian diplomatic delegation in the Italian capital of Rome on June 11 and 12.
In the meantime, Iran’s senior diplomats are set to hold separate bilateral meetings with representatives of other members of the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) in the run-up to the talks.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are scheduled to convene a new round of high-profile negotiations in the Austrian capital from June 16 to 20.
The upcoming negotiations are aimed at drafting a comprehensive deal to resolve the decade-long standoff over Tehran's peaceful nuclear energy program.
In the latest development, experts representing Iran and six major world powers discussed the technical issues surrounding the Islamic Republic’s peaceful nuclear program in Austria this week.
The two-day talks started on June 4 on the sidelines of the quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors.