MOSCOW, July 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia’s permanent envoy to international agencies in Vienna, Vladimir Voronkov, is to represent Russia at the July 13, P5+1 meeting of ministers on Iran in Vienna in place of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"[Russian Deputy Foreign Minister] Sergei Ryabkov will head the Russian delegation at the P5+1 talks with Iran, while I was assigned to represent Russia at the meeting of the ministers. This was the decision of the minister [Sergei Lavrov]," Voronkov told RIA Novosti Friday.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton invited the foreign ministers of the P5+1 group — Russia, Britain, France, China and the United States plus Germany — to come to Vienna on Sunday to compare notes on talks with Iran. The US and French foreign ministers have already confirmed their participation in the talks.
Russia's Ryabkov is expected to arrive in Vienna on the eve of the talks from Brazil, where he is also taking part in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit.
The group of six major powers wants Iran to scale back its nuclear program to make sure it does not build an atomic weapon, while Iran insists its intentions are peaceful.
Iran claims it needs 50,000 centrifuges for its nuclear program. The country currently has 19,000 centrifuges, 10,000 of which are operable. The West says the number should be reduced to only a few thousand.
The current round of talks, which started on July 2, is expected to continue until July 20, with a possibility of signing a long-term deal to end the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear drive.
