France FM to join Iran nuclear talks on Saturday
The talks geared up recently due to concerns that failure to produce a framework deal before March 31 may jeopardize any positive outcome from a final agreement.
PARIS
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will participate Saturday in Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The ministry spokesperson, Romain Nadal said on Thursday that Fabius will be heading there after a visit to New York.
The talks geared up recently due to concerns that failure to produce a framework deal before March 31 may jeopardize any positive outcome from a final agreement, which has a July 1 deadline.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said last Saturday in London that the P5+1 countries -- five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany -- will not agree to a "bad" deal, and will aim at securing a successful outcome.
The P5+1 claim that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and want its program curbed in return for the lifting of sanctions.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
The deal sought by the six-member group would have Iran accept limits on its uranium enrichment capacity and would allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspections without interference.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the U.S. intensified pressure on President Barack Obama about the nuclear talks.
On Monday, 367 members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote a letter to the U.S. president, saying that any agreement with Iran over its nuclear program has to be approved by Congress.
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