There are only a few weeks left to make a decision
Washington. 1st of February. INTERFAX - Vienna indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the return to the 2015 nuclear agreement are entering a stage where political decisions are required from the parties, a senior representative of the US State Department told reporters.
"We have made progress by narrowing the list of disagreements only to the key priorities of all parties. And that is why now is the time for political decisions," the official said.
According to him, the last round of negotiations on the return to compliance with the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program was "one of the most intensive to date."
The official said that Washington has already outlined what it was ready to do in terms of lifting sanctions, what Tehran is seeking, and now "Iran must decide whether it is ready to make the decisions necessary for mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA."
"We are at the final stage. Given the pace of Iran's progress, its nuclear achievements, we have only a few weeks left to conclude a deal." He explained the timing by the fact that Iran's successes in the field of uranium enrichment and the accumulation of nuclear material brought it closer to the creation of nuclear weapons, adding that "negotiations cannot continue forever."
The representative of the State Department reiterated that Washington is ready to negotiate directly with Iran, which, according to him, would meet the common interests, taking into account the stated time frame.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was optimistic about the progress of the talks.
"As for the Iranian nuclear program, I would now take a more optimistic position, there is real progress there, there is a real desire, first of all between Iran and the United States, to understand specific concerns and understand how these concerns can be taken into account in the overall package," he said at a press conference.
According to the minister, "we expect that an agreement will be reached." Lavrov added that negotiations on the JCPOA are underway in Vienna with the participation of "very experienced negotiators."
