Iran, G5+1 end secnd round of talks in Almaty

Negotiating teams from Iran and the six world powers wrapped up their afternoon session in Almaty, Kazakhstan, minutes ago after they agreed to continue the talks on Saturday.Representatives of Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany) began their afternoon session in Almaty's Rixos Hotel at 16:45 local time and ended their talks after 2 hours and 45 minutes.At the meeting, the two sides agreed to continue negotiations tomorrow.The afternoon session was the second today as the negotiating teams had already convened in a morning meeting.The Iranian team was led by Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili and the G5+1's representatives were presided by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.On Thursday, Iran's deputy chief negotiator Ali Baqeri said that the Islamic Republic would enter the new round of talks with the G5+1 with clear, groundbreaking proposals.Also, Baqeri told the media following the Friday morning session in Almaty that Jalili has offered the six world powers a set of specific proposals for the start of a new round of cooperation between Iran and the G5+1."This morning, Dr. Jalili presented the opposite side with Iran's specific proposals for the start of a new round of cooperation between the G5+1 and Iran," Baqeri said."These proposals have been regulated within the framework of Iran's overall plan presented in Moscow," added Baqeri, who is an Undersecretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the second man in the Iranian team of negotiators.Baqeri reminded that Iran had offered a comprehensive package for cooperation among the seven countries (i.e. Iran and the sextet) to the G5+1 during the Moscow talks.Baqeri also pointed out that during the Friday morning session, the Iranian side stressed the need for all parties to pay due attention to the "three elements of the start of the trend of talks, dimensions of this trend and ending this trend "."Iran believes that what is referred to as confidence building measure, which includes a set of actions that need to be agreed upon and brought into action by both sides, is part of a comprehensive solution and not an insignificant part of the solution or something alongside it," he explained."On the very same basis, the proposal that Jalili offered to the representatives of the G5+1 countries this morning presented a specific framework to the opposite side," the Iranian negotiator added.The last round of the talks between Tehran and the six world powers was held in Almaty on February 26-27.Also, experts from Iran and the G5+1 reviewed the two sides' proposals in a meeting in Istanbul from March 17 to 18. The two sides' experts outlined topics of the talks between the chief negotiators of Iran and the G5+1.