The talks between the P5+1 group of international mediators and Iran on the latter's disputed nuclear program have led to some progress and more understanding, the negotiating team and representatives of Iran said.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the most significant of all was the negotiating progress in the presence of certain differences of opinion. "We will have to work very, very hard for the next few weeks. We have made some progress. There are a lot of details that need to be discussed," he said.
At the same time, Iran does not intend to rush the completion of negotiations: according to a source in the delegation of Iran, it should be remembered that the target date for the release agreement expires only at the end of June.
"The next round of P5+1 talks on the Iranian nuclear program will be held on March 15-20," TASS cited the source.
The only hint of the content of the compromise was the statement of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifdid, who didn't participate in the talks, saying that Tehran could go to a temporary restriction of nuclear development in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. "If we have an agreement, we are prepared to accept certain limitations for a certain period of time, but I'm not prepared to negotiate on the air," Zarif told CNN's host Christiane Amanpour.
A senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Vladimir Sazhin, told 'Vestnik Kavkaza' that he does not see anything unexpected in the negotiations' progress. "It is good that the sides announced significant progress in the last round of talks, but I have been optimistic about this since November 24, 2013, when the sides adopted a joint action plan to address this problem. It became clear that both Iran and the opposing negotiators are interested in a positive solution to this problem. And the negotiating process has started. This is natural, " he explained."What is required of those negotiations? The international community, in particular the IAEA, should have no claims on Iran after the adoption of the document. On the other hand, Iran should have been released from the international economic sanctions that were imposed against it," the expert said.However, there are several factors that hamper the negotiators in achieving this result.First of all, we are talking about the position of Washington and Tel Aviv. "I want to say right away that the current Israeli leadership headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as some forces in the Republican Party of the US who oppose President Barack Obama, generally believe that Iran should be completely deprived of its nuclear infrastructure. But this is, of course, impossible. For the simple reason that Iran is a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the IAEA," Sazhin said."The next problem is how many years this contract will operate," he added
A senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Vladimir Sazhin, told 'Vestnik Kavkaza' that he does not see anything unexpected in the negotiations' progress. "It is good that the sides announced significant progress in the last round of talks, but I have been optimistic about this since November 24, 2013, when the sides adopted a joint action plan to address this problem. It became clear that both Iran and the opposing negotiators are interested in a positive solution to this problem. And the negotiating process has started. This is natural, " he explained.
"What is required of those negotiations? The international community, in particular the IAEA, should have no claims on Iran after the adoption of the document. On the other hand, Iran should have been released from the international economic sanctions that were imposed against it," the expert said.
However, there are several factors that hamper the negotiators in achieving this result. First of all, we are talking about the position of Washington and Tel Aviv. "I want to say right away that the current Israeli leadership headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as some forces in the Republican Party of the US who oppose President Barack Obama, generally believe that Iran should be completely deprived of its nuclear infrastructure. But this is, of course, impossible. For the simple reason that Iran is a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the IAEA," Sazhin said.
"The next problem is how many years this contract will operate," he added.
The director of the Center for Socio-Political Research, the head of a section at the Institute of CIS Countries, Vladimir Yevseyev, also notes that the negotiations on this issue are not very easy. "There is mutual blackmail. From the US side, blackmail is carried out by the US Congress. Initially, the US Congress threatened to introduce new sanctions against Iran if a framework agreement is not signed by the end of March. After Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech in the US Congress on March 3, another initiative was launched. The US Senate has announced its readiness to consider the previously prepared draft law that any agreement with Iran must be approved by Congress. On the other hand, blackmail is carried out by Iran. Minister Zarif says that if US will not come to an agreement with Iran, President Hassan Rouhani will resign, and the less predictable Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be the next President," he said.
In addition, the parties' opinions diverge on some issues. First of all, we are talking about the sanctions regime. "The United States does not want to lift it, and Barack Obama cannot do it at the legislative level. It can only be suspended. And Europe can partially lift sanctions. But they want to stretch this process out for 10 to 15 years," the expert said.
"Another issue is the number of working gas centrifuges. Currently, 9000 Pi-1 gas centrifuges operate in Iran. The US proposes reducing the number to 4000-6000 centrifuges. Iran doesn't agree," Yevseyev said. However, this does not mean that we should give up on the success of the negotiations. "I'm not sure, but some framework agreement could be signed by the end of June. But it will be a framework agreement, not a comprehensive one," he concluded.
