Iranian, EU Negotiators Resume Talks on Friday


Iranian, EU Negotiators Resume Talks on Friday

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Nuclear negotiators representing Iran and the European Union kicked off a meeting in the Swiss city of Geneva for the second day in a row in a bid to devise a mechanism for implementation of a landmark nuclear deal, reached in November.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi and Deputy EU Foreign Policy Chief Helga Schmid convened another meeting in the Swiss city on Friday in order to resolve a couple of issues that have remained unresolved during earlier expert-level talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany).

The ongoing talks are aimed at resolving two or three remaining issues regarding a Joint Action Plan signed by Iran and P5+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.

Earlier on Thursday, the first round of fresh talks also saw representative of the US.

US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman stopped over en route to Russia yesterday, and joined Araqchi and Schmid in a trilateral meeting in Geneva.

Following the trilateral talks, Araqchi, who heads a delegation of Iranian nuclear negotiators, and Sherman held a 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 negotiating 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.

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