Settlement of nuclear dispute not beyond the reach: Zarif

Tehran, March 15, IRNA – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that if the western governments have the same political resolve as that of the Iranians, reaching a settlement over nuclear dispute is not difficult. On the issues to be discussed during the new round of talks between Iran and the western governments in Lausanne, Switzerland, later in the day, Zarif said the issue of arbitrary sanctions on Iran tops the agenda. Zarif said that the hue and cry over Iran talks over the past week were mostly propaganda. The foreign minister noted that discussions will be intensive aimed at reaching a settlement on the remaining issues. Solutions have to be precisely written down to pave the way for drafting a deal, he said. However, he noted that reaching solutions does not translate into striking a comprehensive deal which the two sides hope to reach by a self-imposed June 30 deadline. Iranian negotiating team left Tehran for Lausanne, Switzerland earlier Sunday for the new round of talks with the US and European Union delegations. Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi is accompanying the diplomats like the two previous rounds of talks. Deputies Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-e Ravanchi will sit at the talks with the deputy EU Foreign Policy chief Helga Schmid and the US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Zarif is scheduled to meet the EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels upon her invitation on Monday. He will hold a special meeting with the foreign ministries of Germany, France and Britain Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Laurent Fabius and Philip Hammond respectively. After a meeting with EU foreign policy chief in Brussels, Zarif will be back to Switzerland on Tuesday to join the negotiating team. Salehi and the US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz will be discussing issues in Lausanne as well. The nuclear talks in Lausanne is expected to last till March 20.