The talks in the Austrian capital between Iran and the P4+1, namely China, France, Germany, Russia and the UK, with the indirect presence of the United States is ongoing, as the teams make intensive diplomatic efforts with numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings to conclude the negotiations.
Iran’s top negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani had a meeting on Saturday with the Russian representative in the talks Mikhail Ulyanov who wrote in a tweet that they discussed in details the way ahead at the talks.
Bagheri Kani also had separate meetings with the deputy EU foreign policy chief Enrique Mora and the Chinese representative Wang Qun.
We all agree that we have reached the final stage, especially when the Iranian colleagues have offered their final pack, Wang told reporters before the meeting.
However, he ruled out holding a JCPOA Joint Commission meeting, saying that there are still bilateral and multilateral meetings being held.
The teams in Vienna have agreed not to hold Joint Commission meetings and to continue discussions in the framework of bilateral and multilateral sessions.
In the meantime, expert meetings are pursued seriously in Vienna, as the three nuclear, implementation arrangements and sanctions removal working groups of Iran and the P4+1 convened on Saturday.
The US negotiating team has held various meetings, including with the Russian representative. Ulyanov said that they “discussed the most contentious issues which need to be settled” at the Vienna talks.
Ulyanov also said that he had met with the EU Coordinator as well as Political Directors of France, Germany and U.K. to discuss the way ahead at the talks.
While the teams in Vienna admit that the US is responsible for the current situation with the JCPOA, the Western participants of the deal try to put the ball in Iran’s court.
However, Iran has made its demands clear by submitting its drafts and has made its political decision. It’s now the US’ turn to make up its mind as soon as possible, instead of playing political games and trying to appease the Israeli regime that has objected any deal with Iran.
The US has shown that it is still staying undecided in Vienna without any flexibility and this has prolonged the talks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Iran has already made it clear for the US that it needs to show goodwill which, in Iran’s view, means that something happens on the ground.
Amirabdollahian said that lifting some parts of sanctions in an objective and real manner could be a good indication of the US’ goodwill, adding that what happened on the paper is good but not enough.
The talks in Vienna has entered a sensitive phase with the team returning to the Austrian capital after a more that a week-long hiatus for consultations in their capitals.
They need to make a political decision if they want a deal to be in place.
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