MOSCOW, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has urged the group of six international mediators and Tehran to agree on the place and time for the next round of Iranian nuclear talks, with a looming deadline less than two months away.
"It is now important to set a date and choose a place for the next round of negotiations as soon as possible. Time is running short ahead of November 24, which is the deadline for a new agreement," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement Thursday.
Lukashevich dismissed Iran's earlier remark that Russia had "showed not enough interest in reaching an agreement," saying that Russia had been "not just constructive but also very creative in finding solutions that would suit all parties."
On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Austrian Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti Iran and the six powers — Russia, the United States, China, France, Britain and Germany – may meet in Vienna on October 15.
He noted that the meeting is unlikely to be comprised of the same members that negotiated in Vienna during the previous rounds of talks and could be held separately between Iran and the United States or other six nations.
The West has accused Tehran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, a claim repeatedly denied by the Iranian authorities.
At a meeting held in November 2013 in Geneva, Iran and the P5+1 group agreed to reach a long-term nuclear agreement by July 2014. The deadline was later postponed to November 2014.
The latest round of negotiations took place on September 24, when the group of international mediators met with the Iranian delegation in New York to discuss the Islamic Republic nuclear program, although they failed to reach an agreement with Tehran on any of the key issues.
