Algeria underlines Iran's right to access civilian nuclear technology

An Algerian deputy foreign minister underlined that Iran as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has the right to utilize nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. In a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on Sunday,  Abdolmajid Bouguerra underlined that Algiers has always supported Tehran’s legitimate right to access peaceful nuclear energy. He further noted that the Algerian government and nation hope that negotiations between Iran and six major world powers over the country’s nuclear energy program would produce favorable results for the Iranian government and people. On Thursday, Iran and the Sextet of world powers agreed on an agenda for negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program and will meet again next month in Vienna, a senior Iranian official said after two days of talks in the Austrian capital. This indicates an early step forward in the elusive search for a settlement of the decade-old dispute, even though the sides remain far apart on how to resolve it and both Iran and the United States have publicly stated it may not be possible to reach a final agreement. Negotiators from Iran and the world powers met in Vienna on February 18-20 to hammer out an agenda for talks on a final deal to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear activities. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said, "The involved parties have agreed on an agenda and a framework and the next round of talks will be in the second half of March in Vienna." Zarif, who headed the Iranian delegation, and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who presided over the delegations of the six world powers, ended their last round of talks on Thursday. The negotiations will probably extend at least over several months, and could help defuse years of hostility between energy-exporting Iran and the West, ease the danger of a new war in the Middle-East, transform the regional power balance and open up major business opportunities for western firms.