VIENNA
Iran and the six major powers agreed Monday in Vienna to extend nuclear talks till end of June, 2015 after failing to meet the Nov. 24 deadline for a permanent settlement.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry underscored the positives at a press conference at the end of the Vienna talks.
"In these last days in Vienna, we have made real and substantial progress, and we have seen new ideas surface," Kerry said.
“And that is why, we are jointly, the P5+1, six nations and Iran are extending these talks for seven months with the very specific goal of finishing the political agreement within four months," he said.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the U.S., U.K., China, France and Russia -- plus Germany make up what is known as the P5+1 group.
The secretary of state also said all parties were willing to meet again in December.
“We believe a comprehensive deal that addresses the world's concerns is possible, it's desirable,” Kerry said.
He added that such a deal should ensure Iran did not acquire a nuclear weapon.
- Relief from sanctions
Kerry praised recent efforts of Iran towards building trust.
He said Tehran had frozen its nuclear program, reduced nuclear materials’ enrichment from 20 percent to zero and also allowed daily access of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to the country’s uranium enrichment facilities.
However, he also called on Iran to do more towards a comprehensive settlement.
“A viable agreement will have to include a new level of transparency and verification,” he said.
He said relief from international sanctions would depend on future steps of Iran.
“We want to terminate the sanctions,” Kerry said.
“The world still has serious questions about Iran’s nuclear program. And for the sanctions to be terminated, we need Iran to take concrete verifiable steps to answer that question,” he added.
Negotiations in Vienna were supposed to be the final round of talks between Iran and the world powers' group.
Iran had agreed to limit certain aspects of its controversial nuclear program in exchange for some relief in sanctions under a deal reached on Nov. 24, 2013, in Geneva.
The two sides back then had reached an agreement to strive for a permanent settlement within six months.
However, when those negotiations could not lead to an agreement, both parties had postponed the deadline until Nov. 24, 2014, which again was not met.
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