No ultimatums should be issued to Iran, Russia says

TEHRAN,June 24(MNA) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that no “ultimatum” should be issued to Iran over its nuclear program and talks between Tehran and the six major powers should not be dismissed as a failure. Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) held a new round of talks in Moscow on June 18 and 19. The negotiations in the Russian capital were a continuation of talks that were held in Istanbul on April 14 and in Baghdad on May 23 and 24. During the talks in Moscow, the two sides agreed to hold expert meetings in Istanbul on July 3. Speaking on Russia’s Rossiya 24 television network on Friday, Lavrov said that the Moscow talks were “quite useful,” even though there was no breakthrough, AP reported. Iran shouldn’t face threats over its nuclear program and it is not realistic to expect a quick settlement of the standoff, he stated. Talks must continue without “any artificial deadlines or ultimatums,” he said, adding, “In order to settle the issue, it’s necessary to refrain from constant threats of using force, abandon scenarios aimed against Iran, and stop dismissing the talks as (a) failure.” He went on to say that the international talks must not be dragged out, but that it would be wrong to “put forward any artificial deadlines and ultimatums and say that if there is no final agreement by the end of July or August -- and there simply can’t be any in such a (short) period -- then we will end talks and launch some kind of bellicose actions.” Nearly half the U.S. Senate told President Barack Obama on June 15 that unless Iran made three specific concessions at the Moscow talks, the United States should withdraw from the negotiations. The senators wrote that the “absolute minimum” Iran must do immediately to justify further talks is to shut down the Fordo uranium enrichment facility near Qom, freeze all uranium enrichment above 5 percent, and ship all uranium enriched above 5 percent out of the country. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents the 5+1 group in the nuclear negotiations with Iran, mentioned the same demands during a press conference in Moscow on June 19.