Iranian, Russian Presidents To Discuss Nuclear Talks

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss the “process and results” of the ongoing Iran-P5+1 nuclear talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The two presidents will exchange views on the issue during a phone talk on Nov. 24, Lavrov said, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.

Nov. 24 is set as the deadline to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement between Iran and the world six powers (the US, UK, France, Russia and China plus Germany) to put an end to 11 years of nuclear dispute.

It is while hopes on reaching an agreement before the deadline is almost disappeared and extending the talks is on the agenda.

A member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team said that achieving a final deal before Nov. 24 deadline is almost impossible, adding the ongoing talks are focused on reaching a political and general understanding not the comprehensive deal.

An unnamed source official close to Iran's nuclear negotiating team said that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his US counterpart John Kerry have discussed ways to continue the negotiations.

The official said that in the direct meeting between Zarif and Kerry, they discussed different nuclear issues and ways to solve them.

Last November, Iran and the P5+1 clinched an interim nuclear accord, which took effect on Jan. 20 and expired six months later.

However, the parties agreed to extend their talks until Nov. 24 as they remained divided on a number of key issues including the extent of the uranium enrichment, number of centrifuges, removing the sanctions as well as activities of Arak and Fordow nuclear sites. (Cihan/Trend az)