German Foreign Minister Hopes Extension of Talks to Resolve Iran Nuclear Program Issue

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED 19.07.2014

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is currently on a visit to Mexico, has said he hopes the extension of the negotiations between P5+1 group and Iran until November will allow to reach an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.

"These few months till November may be the last and best chance to finish the nuclear dispute peacefully. Obviously, negotiations cannot continue indefinitely. Before the term of the plan expires, Iran should prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program," the head of German Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier the same day, Reuters reported that Iran and the group of six international mediators agreed to extend the deadline of Tehran’s nuclear program deal for another four months.

Under the Geneva action plan adopted on November 24, 2013, the six world powers and Iran by July 20 had to reach a deal, which would guarantee the exclusively peaceful character of Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for a step-by-step lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The document is supposed to be signed no later than a year after the Geneva accord, which means the parties will have to agree on the matter before November 24, 2014.

Earlier this week Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with the US Secretary of State John Kerry and announced the possibility of extending the Geneva deadline due to the fact that unresolved issues still remained. The final sixth round of negotiations between the P5+1 international group — US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China — and Iran has been underway in Vienna since July 2.

Topics: Germany, Iran

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