Iran, P5+1 Hold Plenary Nuclear Meeting in Lausanne

Top representatives from Iran and the P5+1 group have held a plenary meeting in the Swiss city of Lausanne to narrow their differences in negotiations aimed at reaching a final deal over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sat down with US Secretary of State John Kerry, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

The meeting was held in an attempt to bridge differences on the outstanding issues surrounding Iran’s civilian nuclear activities.

Meanwhile, Maria Zakharova, the deputy spokesperson for the Russian ministry of foregin affairs, said Lavrov would leave Lausanne today and return if necessary tomorrow night. She added that Russia wants any possible agreement not to be in violation of the UN Security Council mechanisms.

Senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Seyyed Abbas Araqchi told Press TV late on Sunday that the talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany, are “in a very critical situation.”

We are in the last stage of negotiations, we are in a very critical situation,” Araqchi said.

The senior Iranian diplomat denied reports that a tentative agreement had been reached between the two sides, but said good progress had been made during the new round of talks, which kicked off in Lausanne on March 26.

 “There are many items on the table. For many of them we have already found solutions. We are trying to close the list and find solutions on each and every item,” Araqchi said, adding, “Getting to an accord is doable. Solutions have been found for numerous questions. We are still working on two or three issues.”

On Sunday, Zarif held separate bilateral talks with his Chinese, German, British and Russian counterparts over the outstanding issues between the parties to the negotiations.

The final stage of the talks in Lausanne is expected to continue until Tuesday, March 31, which was set as a deadline for reaching mutual understanding in the Iran-P5+1 negotiations.

PRESS T.V

R.S