Iran-P5+1 talks should continue

The foreign ministers of Iran and Kazakhstan have stressed the importance of continuing the negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 group of world powers in the future.

In a telephone conversation on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Kazakh counterpart Erlan A. Idrissov exchanged views on the latest developments pertaining to Iran’s nuclear energy program.

The two ministers discussed the outcomes of the recent two-day meeting between Iran and the P5+1 (Russia, France, Britain, the US, China and Germany) in the Kazakh city of Almaty and expressed hope that the sides would proceed with the talks at the earliest.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany wrapped up their latest round of negotiations on April 6 in Kazakhstan.

On Thursday, the deputy to Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the P5+1, Ali Baqeri, said Tehran offered its proposals in the latest round of the negotiations and the other side must respond now.

“In fact, we demanded that the other side make its decision and the ball is now in the P5+1’s court,” Baqeri added.

Iran rejects allegations by the US, Israel and their allies that its nuclear energy program has been diverted to non-civilian purposes and maintains that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The Iranian and Kazakh ministers also discussed ways to strengthen the amicable relations between Tehran and Astana in various fields.

Idrissov also invited Salehi to attend the Istanbul Process Conference, which is scheduled to be held in Almaty on April 26.