Iranian, P 5+2 experts to continue work on comprehensive action plan

VIENNA, May 12. /TASS/. Experts from Iran and the P 5+1 nations - five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany - are expected to hold a yet another round of talks in the Austrian capital on Tuesday. The focus of their attention will be given to the text of a comprehensive plan of action for resolving the Iranian nuclear programme. The parties to the talks hope to present a finalized version of the document by the end of June. EU’s deputy high representative for foreign and security policy, Helga Schmidt and Iran’s Deputy Foreign Abbas Aragchi will coordinate the talks. On May 15, political directors of the P 5+1 countries will join them. Russia will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov. The sides managed to map out the political framework of the final document back at the beginning of April in Lausanne but a number of fundamental moments, including the ones related to the conditions and procedures for lifting the sanctions against Iran. At the beginning of May, experts held a round of consultations in New York on the sidelines of a review conference on the nuclear nonproliferation treaty in New York and now they return to Vienna. They have managed to coordinate a considerable part of the text, a diplomat who took part in the previous round of consultations told TASS. "Work is in full swing and everyone is set to round it up on time," he said. "The drafting of the dummy is proceeding in accordance with schedule," the diplomat said. On the eve of the round, Abbas Aragchi told Iran’s mejlis that a deal on the Iranian nuclear programme was within reach, as a part of issues had received full clarification while the other part still remained a point for discussions. The final will contain a preamble, a chapter on Iran’s nuclear activity, a part specifying sanctions, and a timetable. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov confirmed at the latest meeting of political directors in Vienna at the end of April that some unsettled issues still remained at the political level. For instance, he said the lifting of sanctions from Iran had not been linked to the removal of a possible military aspect of Tehran’s nuclear programme. Also, discussions were still underway on how to control supplies of dual technologies to Iran. In addition, there was very little progress on the lifting of an arms embargo against Iran. One more highly sensitive issue - access for international experts to the military installation in Parchin where the tests related to the military aspect of the Iranian programme may supposedly be held - is up in the air, although it was to be discussed in New York. "The problem of Parchin as such doesn’t exist if plucked out of the general context," Ryabkov said. "Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency /IAEA/ discussed this element and aspect separately from the format of communications with P 5+1." "I can’t say with assuredness we know right now whether or not the IAEA experts will get access to Parchin," Ryabkov said. Aragchi told mejlis on March 11 that the forthcoming inspections would leave out military installations. Read more