UNITED NATIONS, September 27 (RIA Novosti) - Iran and the so-called P5+1 international mediation group have made significant progress in the talks on Iranian nuclear program; further development could be achieved only by political decisions, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
“One issue depends on another, and the advancement on various topics varies in scale … the upcoming agreement is a package [of documents], and nothing is agreed on unless every point is reconciled,” Ryabkov told the press on Friday.
“The progress has been achieved on all issues without exception, now it is just certain political decisions which have to be made," the official added.
The West and Israel accuse Iran of attempting to develop a nuclear weapon under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. Tehran, however, argues that its nuclear development pursues only peaceful goals and is particularly aimed at meeting the country’s growing energy needs.
During the talks held in Geneva in November 2013, the P5+1 group of international mediators comprising Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Germany agreed to reach a deal with the Tehran delegation guaranteeing the peaceful nature of the nuclear program by July 2014. The deadline for the agreement was later postponed to November 2014.
Earlier in the week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed hope that the agreement could be reached in November. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday he is cautiously optimistic on the talks’ prospects.
