Sunday, November 10, 2013

'No deal' at Iran nuclear talks

'No deal' at Iran nuclear talks


Talks between world powers and Iran have failed to reach an agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme, diplomats say.
Talks at UN offices in Geneva, Switzerland. 7 Nov  2013EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told a press conference that there had been a lot of "concrete progress but some differences remain".
The talks in Geneva had only been scheduled to last two days
Lady Ashton said talks would continue on 20 November.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he was not disappointed with the outcome.
He told reporters that all parties were on the same wavelength and there was the impetus to reach an agreement.
Move forward
Delegates had earlier suggested there was "good progress".
A proposal that was floated would require Iran to freeze expansion of nuclear activity in return from limited relief from economic sanctions.
Diplomatic sources said France had wanted tougher terms for Iran.
Earlier the French foreign minister said the three days of negotiations had ended without a deal.
Laurent Fabius said: "The meetings in Geneva have made it possible to move forward but we have not yet managed to conclude, because there are still some questions remaining to be dealt with."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had earlier urged the world powers not to miss an "exceptional opportunity" to seal an agreement.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague had also urged negotiators to "seize the moment".
The Geneva talks involve Iran and the P5+1: the US, Russia, Britain, France and China as permanent UN Security Council members, plus Germany.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif earlier told the BBC he was more cautious about a deal than two days ago, but was hopeful an agreement would still come.

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