Russian deputy foreign minister says that Iran and six world powers have the required will to reach a nuclear agreement before the end of March, Press TV reported.
Sergei Ryabkov said Monday that major disagreements remain on the majority of disputed issues between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers, but the two sides have the "political will" to sign a deal before the end of March.
"It (the will) is definitely here. Everyone sees incoming external factors and the attention, which a number of countries pay to what is going on at the talks," Ryabkov said after political directors wrapped up their latest round of talks on Iran's nuclear program in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The top Russian diplomat said, however, that there is "no guarantee" that the current slow progress in talks would be transformed into a decisive shift or a compromise. He added that the the next round of negotiations may be held at the beginning of February but there is no "solid understanding regarding the [exact] date and venue of the next round".
Senior negotiators from all sides involved in the nuclear talks have stepped up their diplomatic efforts to pave the way for a final, long-term accord aimed at putting an end to the 12-year-old dispute over Tehran's peaceful nuclear activities.
The latest Geneva talks were held at the level of political directors and included lengthy meetings between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his US counterpart John Kerry in Geneva and Paris.
This was the second round of discussions since Tehran and the six world powers failed to work out a permanent nuclear deal by last November's deadline despite making some progress.
Iran and P5+1 countries - the US, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany - agreed in November 2014 to extend their discussions until July 2015. The remaining points in the talks includes the scale of uranium enrichment and the time-table for lifting anti-Iran sanctions.