11/26/2014
VIENNA – The major world powers and Iran agreed Monday in the Austrian capital to extend negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program until June 30, 2015, British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond announced.
“We have made significant progress; we cannot afford to stop now. We are beginning to understand each other,” Hammond told reporters in Vienna, after an almost week-long negotiating marathon.
He stressed that it is important to maintain the current momentum to reach an agreement, noting that the negotiating teams would meet again in December.
The British official said that during the extended negotiating period, Iran will have access to about $700 million a month, which will be released from oil revenue that had been blocked by international sanctions.
Meanwhile, the head of German diplomacy, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that negotiations have not gone as far as he would have liked, but no new ideas were on the table.
He hoped to continue negotiating intensively in the coming days and weeks, he added.
In turn, the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, told reporters that the international community “needs more time” to consider new proposals.
The extension of negotiations aims to seek a credible agreement, according to the French minister.
“In recent days, new ideas have been presented – ideas that obviously require a very technical examination, because they are very complex issues. We need more time to discuss them,” he added.
Foreign ministers and negotiating teams representing the six nations included in the P5+1 (the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany) and Iran have sought since last Tuesday an agreement to end the 12-year-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
The P5+1 launched the negotiating process a year ago under a one-year time limit, in order to restrict Iran’s nuclear program to a strictly civilian use, precluding any possibility of developing a nuclear weapon.
This negotiating effort started last November with a roadmap according to which Iran agreed to freeze part of its nuclear program in exchange for some easing of international sanctions that are strangling its economy.
source
VIENNA – The major world powers and Iran agreed Monday in the Austrian capital to extend negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program until June 30, 2015, British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond announced.“We have made significant progress; we cannot afford to stop now. We are beginning to understand each other,” Hammond told reporters in Vienna, after an almost week-long negotiating marathon.
He stressed that it is important to maintain the current momentum to reach an agreement, noting that the negotiating teams would meet again in December.
The British official said that during the extended negotiating period, Iran will have access to about $700 million a month, which will be released from oil revenue that had been blocked by international sanctions.
Meanwhile, the head of German diplomacy, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that negotiations have not gone as far as he would have liked, but no new ideas were on the table.
He hoped to continue negotiating intensively in the coming days and weeks, he added.
In turn, the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, told reporters that the international community “needs more time” to consider new proposals.
The extension of negotiations aims to seek a credible agreement, according to the French minister.
“In recent days, new ideas have been presented – ideas that obviously require a very technical examination, because they are very complex issues. We need more time to discuss them,” he added.
Foreign ministers and negotiating teams representing the six nations included in the P5+1 (the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany) and Iran have sought since last Tuesday an agreement to end the 12-year-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
The P5+1 launched the negotiating process a year ago under a one-year time limit, in order to restrict Iran’s nuclear program to a strictly civilian use, precluding any possibility of developing a nuclear weapon.
This negotiating effort started last November with a roadmap according to which Iran agreed to freeze part of its nuclear program in exchange for some easing of international sanctions that are strangling its economy.
source
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