Iranian Negotiator Sees Attainment of Final Nuclear Deal in New York as "Unlikely"
(FNA)- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and senior negotiator Seyed Abbas Araqchi expressed doubt about attainment of a final nuclear agreement in the upcoming talks between Iran and the six world powers in New York later this week.
"I believe that it will be highly unlikely to be able to reach the final conclusion and an agreement in New York, given the large volume of the negotiations needed," Araqchi told reporters in Tehran on Monday on the sidelines of the 53rd annual meeting of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO).
He underlined that there are still serious differences over certain issues between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), but expressed the hope that progress would be made in the talks given consultations between the two sides during the past month, the bilateral meetings between Iran and the G5+1 members and the upcoming meetings in New York on Wednesday and Thursday.
Araqchi said materialization of his nation's rights and safeguarding achievements of Iran's nuclear scientists are his team's redlines, and said Tehran hopes that its talks with the world powers would both protect Iran's nuclear program and obviate any possible concerns about the country's nuclear activities.
In relevant remarks yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the world powers could resolve their nuclear standoff with Iran and strike a final deal with the country if they really intended to do so.
"If the other side shows real resolve to settle the problem over Iran's nuclear issue, we can obtain results at the earliest," Zarif said in a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Ri Su-yong in Tehran.
He further complained that the West has imposed a set of sanctions against Iran, while the Islamic Republic has never sought to develop military nuclear program and it believes that all countries which possess atomic weapons should be disarmed.
Zarif underscored Tehran's firm stance on pursuing a peaceful nuclear drive, and said, "Yet, no one in Iran accepts to give up the Iranian nation's inalienable right for the sake of the unfair sanctions, while the Islamic Republic of Iran won't allow the western states to display an incorrect image of Iran which is opposed to nuclear weapons."
His remarks came as Iran and the G5+1 are scheduled to resume negotiations over a final deal on Tehran's nuclear program in New York on September 18.
Araqchi told reporters on Sunday that Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton would have a working lunch on Wednesday, adding that the two would preside over the multilateral negotiations on Thursday.
"The Iranian team will leave for New York on Tuesday," said the deputy lead negotiator, adding that the Iranian delegation would have bilateral meetings with the G5+1 members on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.
"At these (bilateral) meetings, decisions will be made on how to proceed with the (multilateral) negotiations and the ministerial-level meeting," Araqchi concluded.
On September 1, Zarif and Ashton met in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss the process of the ongoing nuclear talks.
After his negotiations with Ashton, the Iranian foreign minister said that he was optimistic that the issues related to the Iranian nuclear technology could be resolved within the time framework of the November 24 deadline.
Iran and the six world powers are currently in talks to work out a lasting accord aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear activities.
Last November, the two sides signed an interim deal in Geneva, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20. In July, Tehran and the six countries agreed to extend negotiations until November 24 after they failed to reach an agreement on a number of key issues.