No one was surprised when the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers saw the same lack of concrete results as numerous previous encounters, dpa reported.
Although both sides floated a confidence-building scheme involving the export of Iranian nuclear material as a topic for their next meeting in Istanbul late January, opposing interpretations of such a deal exposed their lack of common ground.
While the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China once again voiced concern over a possible Iranian nuclear weapons programme, Iran refused to budge from its right to nuclear technology, including the uranium enrichment process, which the West wants suspended.
Both sides could however claim partial victory in the talks that ended Tuesday in Geneva
Iran had said it would not talk about the nuclear issue, but according to Western diplomats, more than two-thirds of the meeting was allocated to this topic.
On the other hand, the world powers had initially rejected the next talks be held in Istanbul, but now agreed to Iran's wish to continue the negotiations in the Turkish capital.
"It is a major achievement for Iran that the next talks are held in Istanbul," Iran's state television commented on the only tangible outcome in Geneva.
Holding the talks in Istanbul is important for Iran as Turkey - and Brazil - were involved in the trilateral agreement signed in May, under which Iran's low-enriched uranium would be stored in Turkey and later be exchanged for nuclear fuel to be used in a Tehran medical- purpose reactor.
The three-country deal was the latest iteration of a plan that was originally worked out in the previous round of multilateral talks on Iran's nuclear programme in Geneva in October 2009, but has never materialized.
Iran regards the swap deal as an initial step towards settling the nuclear dispute with the West.
If the agreement were expanded to ship out more material than originally agreed, and have it processed into fuel for additional reactors, the deal could secure Iran's rights to pursue civil nuclear projects, according to Iranian officials.
At the same time, it would ensure that Iran cannot turn the uranium into weapons, allaying the fears of the group of six and many other countries.
"A revised Tehran research reactor deal might be one such possibility to build confidence," a senior US administration official said.
But he also made clear that the scheme would not mean an acceptance of Iran's nuclear activities. Halting enrichment was still a legally binding demand contained in several UN Security Council resolutions, he stressed.
Andreas Persbo, a nuclear expert with the VERTIC think tank in London, criticized the six countries for their lack of clarity of what they would or would not accept.
"They seem to be groping around, looking for what they could do, instead of looking for a policy and sticking with it," he said.
Lacking better options, the six powers pinned their hopes on the swaying power of the UN sanctions they have decided on, at least as a way to pressure Iran to continue talking.
"It's difficult to say how that's going to affect Iran's calculus about the core nuclear concerns that we have, but I think it's a factor," a senior US official said.
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