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Iran urges talks based on common points

In the wake of the latest round of Iran’s talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) in Istanbul, Iran urges further round of talks based on common points.

“Doors are open to talks but (the sides) should make efforts to reach common points with the motive of cooperating,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a press briefing on Tuesday.

“In case of the other side’s readiness, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to continue holding talks with the P5+1,” he added.

Mehmanparast emphasized that during the recent comprehensive talks with the P5+1 — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany – in the Turkish city of Istanbul, Iran showed flexibility but the other side did not have a purposeful agenda for negotiations.

Representatives from Iran and the P5+1 held their latest round of multifaceted talks in Istanbul on January 21 and 22.

One day after the comprehensive talks, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed hope that appropriate results could be achieved in future sessions of negotiations “if the other side is determined and committed to justice, law and respect.”

Mehmanparast downplayed sanctions imposed on Iran, saying, “Illegal and unilateral sanctions by certain countries, including the United States and the European Union, against the Iranian nation, government and certain officials are a wrong path and will bear no fruits.”

The US and its allies, who accuse Iran of developing a military nuclear program, have used this pretext to exert pressure on the UN Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran’s financial and military sectors in June.

Iranian officials have repeatedly denied the charges, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran has a right to peaceful nuclear technology.

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