Iran Sees Difficult Nuclear Talks as March 31 Goal Looms
by Ladane NasseriJonathan Tirone
10:09 AM EDT March 27, 2015
(Bloomberg) -- Iran said talks on its nuclear program are complex and difficult as negotiators seek to beat a March 31 deadline to agree on a framework for resolving the decade-long dispute.
As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif began a second day of talks in the Swiss lakeside city of Lausanne, Germany said chances for an agreement may never be better as long as the solely civilian nature of Iran’s nuclear program is ensured.
Negotiators aim to conclude a framework agreement by Sunday, though they may need until March 31, according to three European and U.S. officials, who asked not to be named in line with diplomatic rules. Specifics of a deal would then be worked out by June.
“We can certainly reach a solution, but this depends on the political will of the other side,” Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted Zarif as saying at the talks Friday. The talks are “very difficult” and “complex,” he was quoted as saying.
Eighteen months after President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pledged in a phone call to try to end the nuclear dispute, five world powers -- the U.S., the U.K., Russia, France and China -- plus Germany are intensifying efforts to settle the outline of an accord.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-27/iran-sees-difficult-nuclear-talks-as-march-31-goal-looms
