Iran could be permitted to have its own nuclear program as long as it is not aimed at building nuclear weapons, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Saturday, Sputnik reported.
"Iran has all the rights for a nuclear program, but as for the atomic bomb - no," Fabius said upon his arrival for nuclear talks with Tehran in the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Fabius stressed he wanted Iran and the P5+1 group of international mediators to reach a "robust agreement".
"I also insist on the transparency of the control mechanism so that the agreed engagement is respected," the French foreign minister added.
A new round of Iranian nuclear talks kicked off in Lausanne on Thursday. The third day will see Fabius meeting with his US and German counterparts, Secretary of State John Kerry and Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Tehran and the six major world powers - France, Britain, China, Russia, the United States and Germany - have until the end of March to hammer out a framework deal, to be followed by a comprehensive agreement to ensure the peaceful nature of Tehran's nuclear activities due by July.