Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.8
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iranian top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi says negotiations with the U.S. over Iran's nuclear program were good and fruitful.
Araqchi and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Wendy Sherman started the nuclear talks in Geneva on Aug. 7.
The deputy Foreign Minister of Iran for European and American Affairs Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi and Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state for political affairs also took part in the nuclear negotiations.
The two sides agreed to continue the talks over the next months, Araqchi said, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on Aug. 8.
From now until the UN general assembly meeting in September a few sessions will be held, he said, adding, "It is hoped that a meeting will be held on the sidelines of the UN general assembly meeting with the 5+1 group."
Earlier, Araqchi said the first round of negotiations during the four-month extension of the interim deal will be most likely be held by Catherine Ashton and Mohammad-Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the UN general assembly meeting.
The talks are the first round of negotiations between the two sides after nuclear talks in Vienna last month during which Iran and six world powers agreed to extend the interim nuclear deal achieved in November 2013, commissioned from Jan.20 to July 20 and extended by four months to November 24, 2014.
Under the terms of the extension of the negotiations, Iran will be able to access $2.8 billion of its blocked assets abroad, which are estimated at more than $100 billion.
Between January and July, Iran was allowed to receive $4.2 billion in funds held abroad, while the West eased some sanctions imposed on Iran to persuade Tehran towards further cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and stop some sensitive nuclear activities.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the U.S., France, Britain, Russia and China - plus Germany are seeking to reach a final agreement over Tehran's nuclear energy program.
Edited by CN