Moscow: World powers eager to hold new round of talks with Iran

Moscow which is a part of the Group 5+1 (US, Russia, France, China and Britain plus Germany) in talks with Tehran over its peaceful nuclear program, announced that the world powers are eager to hold a new round of negotiations with Iran. The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the group of five UNSC veto members and Germany is eager to hold a new round of nuclear talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the near future. “The political office managers of the G5+1 foreign ministries, in a meeting headed by the EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton in Brussels on Tuesday, all agreed that the new round of nuclear talks with Iran must be held soon after President-elect Rouhani would appoint his government’s top nuclear negotiator," the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement said. In relevant remarks on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi expressed confidence that Tehran's talks with the world powers will continue, and said a new team to be appointed by President-elect Hassan Rouhani will be assigned to resume negotiations with the Group 5+1. "The negotiations will certainly continue and we are waiting for Mr. Rouhani to take charge officially and then assign a negotiating team and they (the world powers) have also announced preparedness to resume negotiations," Salehi told reporters in Tehran. In April, Iran and the G5+1 wrapped up two days and four rounds of intensive negotiations in Almaty after the delegations of the world powers demanded further consultations with their capitals. The Iranian team was led by Iran's top negotiator Saeed Jalili and the G5+1's representatives were presided by Ashton. Western media raised some speculations that the continuation of talks would depend on the presidential election in Iran, and that nothing substantial would take place under the conditions then. Iran has so far ruled out halting or limiting its nuclear work in exchange for trade and other incentives, saying that renouncing its rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) would encourage the world powers to put further pressure on the country and would not lead to a change in the West's hardline stance on Tehran. Iran is under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down west's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment. The United States and the European Union have ratcheted up their sanctions on Iran this year to force it to curb its nuclear program. Iranian officials have always shrugged off the sanctions, saying that pressures make them strong and reinvigorate their resolve to further move towards self-sufficiency.