Russia shares Iran Six partners' disappointment

Russia shares the dissatisfaction expressed by the other members of
the Iran Six group of negotiators on the Iranian nuclear issue after
the latest round of talks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei
Ryabkov said, RIA Novosti reports.

"We agree on and share a kind of disappointment, and there are reasons
for this," Ryabkov said, speaking on Thursday in the Nixon Center in
Washington.

"Firstly, we have not decided on the date and place of the next
meeting. Secondly, we have been bogged down because Iran demands the
Iran Six recognize its right to enrich uranium and declare its
willingness to drop sanctions," he went on.

However, he stressed there was no alternative to negotiations with Iran.

"We told the Iran representatives that we should reinforce mutual
trust before discussing concrete agreements. We proposed some
practical ideas," Ryabkov added.

Two-day Istanbul talks with Iran on its controversial nuclear program
ended on January 22 with no breakthrough in sight, and the EU's
foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said the six world powers were
"disappointed" with the negotiations.