Iran, 5+1 to hold formal meeting today

TEHRAN, Jan. 18 (MNA) – The formal meeting of Iran and the 5+1 is to take place at deputy level today at 11:00 AM local time at the UN Bureau in Geneva. Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi represent Iran in today talks with the sextet. Earlier on Wednesday, the Iranian deputy FMs had a bilateral meeting with the American delegation. Araghchi and Takht Ravanchi also held a bilateral meeting with their Russian counterpart Sergei Ryabkov Saturday night. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State John Kerry hold bilateral meetings for three times in Geneva on Wednesday. Iran's Zarif held subsequent meetings with his other counterparts in Germany, France and Brussels as well. The meetings were scheduled in order to help progress the nuclear negotiations. On Saturday, Zarif also held talks with the British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on the phone due to discuss various aspects of the nuclear negotiations. He left Geneva for Tehran Saturday night. The 5-day Geneva negotiations are the second round of talks after seven-month extension of interim agreement between Iran and the 5+1. Negotiators hope to reach a rough deal by March and a final agreement by June 30. The scale of Iran's uranium enrichment and the timetable for the lifting of sanctions against Iran are seen as major sticking points during the talks on Iran's nuclear program.