Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.6
By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:
Iranian nuclear delegation headed by Mohamad Javad Zarif left Tehran to Germany to keep talks with P5+1 in sideline of Munich Security conference.
A delegation Abbas Araqchi, top nuclear negotiator who serves as the deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi Iran's deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, and three other diplomat left Tehran for Munich Feb. 6 to join Zarif.
Before leaving Tehran, Zarif told reporters that a Chinese delegation is not participating in the talks in the foreign ministerial level while Russia is still unsure about the level of its delegation.
"All other parties are sending their foreign ministers to the negotiations," IRNA quoted Zarif as saying.
Zaif noted that talks will be held on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (February 6-8), and that he will also have meetings with other countries, which have requested bilateral discussions with Iran.
It was unclear whether a nuclear agreement could emerge from the talks in Munich because of absence of some of parties involved in the negotiations. However, Zaif believes they could advance the task a bit forward.
The U.S. State Department's Persian Language Spokesperson Alan Eyre told Trend Feb.5 that "the exact schedule is still shaping up, and this will likely only be a brief meeting, with the discussion focused on the nuclear talks".
Talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany) group have been extended until July 1, 2015 to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement.
After the sides failed to meet the 24 Nov. 2014 deadline they also extended the Geneva nuclear deal, which was signed in November 2013 for providing Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities.
Eyre who has been a member of the US nuclear talks delegation since 2009 said that "the Secretary and his counterpart (Zarif) will take stock of where we are, and will use that conversation to instruct their respective negotiating teams going forward".
Earlier this month, Zarif raised the possibility of another round of nuclear talks on the sidelines of the 51st Munich Security Conference.
The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies.
Edited by CN