Russia on Iran nuclear negotiations

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12 July 2014, 17:56

Moscow to uphold unity among P5+1 during negotiations with Iran if it doesn't contradict Russia's interests


Russia is willing to uphold unity among the P5+1 group during the negotiations with Iran as long as it doesn’t contradict Moscow’s interests, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists on Saturday. "As long as nothing threatens our interests we are willing to uphold and maintain the unity (of P5+1). But our top priority is to advance our nation’s interests. This is perfectly normal," Ryabkov pointed out.

"We want to help achieve a balanced agreement that wouldn’t infringe on anyone’s interests. Russia always maintained that unity is paramount to attaining the desired result. But unity cannot eclipse all the rest," said Ryabkov who heads the Russian delegation during negotiations between P5+1 and Iran in Vienna.
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Iran declares it's not going to"kneel" as nuclear talks enter crisis

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took to YouTube on Wednesday to deliver a message that Iran was ready to take steps to ensure its nuclear program remains peaceful but would not "kneel in submission" to do a deal with major powers. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran would need to significantly increase its uranium enrichment capacity, highlighting a gap in positions between Tehran and the world powers.

As talks to resolve the long-running nuclear standoff resumed in Vienna, Zarif's remarks, delivered in English in a slick five-minute video, appeared to be a response to a US warning that Tehran has yet to prove that its atomic ambitions are peaceful, reports Reuters.

The statements highlighted how much work the negotiators from Iran and from the United States, France, Germany, UK, China and Russia still have to do to meet a self-imposed deadline of July 20.
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Diplomats say France and the other Western powers have broadly held out for stricter terms with Iran than have Russia and China. The two have close trade ties with Iran and opposed the West's ratcheting up of sanctions, saying this could play into the hands of Iranian hardliners suspicious of any talks.

The overall goal of the negotiations is a deal reining in Iran's nuclear energy program to minimize the risk of any diversions into bomb production, in exchange for a removal of tough economic sanctions imposed on Tehran.

The powers and Iran have less than two weeks to bridge wide differences on the future scope of its uranium enrichment activity and other issues if they are to meet the target date for a deal.
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COMMENT


It should be interesting to see how the negotiations pan out.

From reading other earlier articles on the subject, if my memory serves me well, the parties are not at all on the same page as Iran.