Leaders hail 'progress' as Iran nuke talks extended
Agreement on key issues reached, but technical details need more talking through, say leaders of P5+1 and Iran, as negotiations near new deadline for a framework deal
PARIS
The deadline for establishing an outline agreement between Iran and the P5+1 states over Tehran's nuclear program has been extended to Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said, as leaders have expressed the common sentiment of progress in ongoing talks.
The decision to go beyond the March 31 deadline was made as White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington D.C. that U.S. negotiators intended to continue through Wednesday "if necessary and as long as the conversations continue to be productive.”
Zarif said: "We have accomplished a quite a bit.
"I hope we can finalize the work on Wednesday and hopefully start the process of drafting."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Iran and the P5+1 countries -- the U.S., China, France, Russia, the U.K., plus Germany -- had reached agreement on all key issues in nuclear talks in Lausanne.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters in Paris: “Progress is made but not enough to reach an immediate agreement.”
Meanwhile, German Chancelor Angela Merkel said Wednesday: “It is my hope and wish that today a compromise will be found.”
At a press conference in Berlin following her talks with Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev, Merkel said that he had a phone conversation with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and was briefed about the latest situation in negotiations.
“I believe that we have gone most of the way. It is in the nature of such negotiations that they are concluded only when an agreement is reached on all questions,” she said.
Iran and the P5+1 group had originally set March 31 as a deadline for negotiators to reach an outline deal, ahead of a deadline for a final accord set for the end of June.
Two previous deadlines for a deal have passed as negotiators seek to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful civilian purposes but world powers are suspicious that the program could potentially be used for military purposes.
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