IANS | 07 Mar, 2015
Iran has reiterated
its call for the removal of all sanctions before a final nuclear deal with the
P5+1 group as the country wraps up another round of nuclear talks with six
world powers.
"Our principle position is that all sanctions are lifted at once,"
Iran's senior nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said on Thursday following his
talks with officials from the P5+1 group in the city of Montreux, Switzerland,
Press TV reported.
Araqchi, who is also deputy foreign minister for legal and international
affairs, stressed that an agreement could be achieved with the world powers
"only if sanctions are lifted."
Noting that the lifting of the sanctions was a "very important
aspect" in the negotiations, he added, "No sanctions should be
remained in place."
The Iranian diplomat called on the world powers to decide between achieving a
"deal" and continuing to "pressure" Iran through sanctions.
He said Iran and the world powers are trying their best to reach a sort of
"understanding" by the end of the month, noting that "major
issues" still remain to be resolved.
His remarks came after representatives of Iran and the P5+1 group of countries
wrapped up deputy-level negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme in the
city of Montreux, Switzerland.
Earlier on Thursday, deputy foreign ministers of Iran and the six world powers
sat down for talks in the Swiss city.
Later in the day, Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministers Seyyed Abbas Araqchi and
Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi met with their Russian and Chinese counterparts, Sergei
Ryabkov and Wang Qun, in Montreux.
On Wednesday, Iran's negotiators held quadrilateral deputy-level talks with
Hans Dieter Lucas from Germany, Simon Gass from Britain and Nicolas de Riviere
from France.
On the same day, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his American
counterpart, John Kerry, wrapped up intense negotiations in Montreux. Head of
the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi and US Energy
Secretary Ernest Moniz also attended the talks.
Iran and the P5+1 countries -- Russia, China, Britain, France, the US plus
Germany -- are seeking to seal a comprehensive nuclear deal by July 1.
The two sides have already missed two self-imposed deadlines for inking a final
agreement since they signed an interim one in the Swiss city of Geneva November
2013.