China, Russia call Iran-5+1 meeting constructive

China said on Wednesday that nuclear talks with Iran were conducted in a “candid and constructive” manner and Russia called the meeting “useful.”
Iran and the 5+1 group (The UN Security Council’s five permanent members, and Germany) held meetings in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a press briefing that the participants in the talks were “seriously discussing” a solution to Iran’s nuclear issue.

“As the Iranian nuclear issue is complicated and sensitive, it is not possible to comprehensively address it through one or two talks,” Xinhua quoted Hua as saying.

Hua emphasized that China expects all parties to “seize opportunities, further showcase flexibility and sincerity, accommodate each other’s concerns, and launch substantive talks soon,” so as to help secure progress at an early date.

The Chinese spokeswoman also said Beijing’s representative in Alamty, Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, met with Ali Baqeri, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, on the sidelines of the talks.

Russia sees the meeting as ‘useful’

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Interfax that “the meeting proved to be useful.”

He also said that he attended a bilateral meeting with the Iranian delegation on Tuesday afternoon.

Iran’s top negotiator, Saeed Jalili, told a press conference on Wednesday that the next round of negotiations would be held on April 5-6 in Almaty.

Jalili added that expert-level talks between the two sides would be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on March 18.

He also said that the six powers had tried to get closer to Iran’s viewpoints in some issues which was a “positive” development.