Iran expresses optimism on Almaty meeting
IRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has expressed
optimism on the outcome of the Islamic Republic’s two-day talks with the
P5+1 group in Kazakhstan.
“From the latest information I received, I'm happy to say that the
outcome of the meeting was positive, that it has been put on the right
track and it is moving in the right direction, and that is important,”
Salehi said at the 5th United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Global
Forum in Vienna on Wednesday.
Iran and the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States,
and Germany) wrapped up their negotiations in Almaty earlier in the day.
The two sides agreed to convene in the Kazakh city again on April 5-6
for the next round of negotiations after holding “expert-level” talks in
the Turkish city of Istanbul on March 17-18. “I would say things are
taking a turning point, and I think the Almaty meeting will be a
milestone,” the Iranian foreign minister stated.
He further expressed optimism that the process that has started would
eventually produce an outcome that will be “in the benefit of both
sides.” Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council
plus Germany have held several rounds of talks with the main focus on
the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly
accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy
program.
Over the false allegation, Washington and the European Union have
imposed several rounds of illegal sanctions against the Islamic
Republic. Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed
signatory to the nuclear 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.
In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s
nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s
civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons
production.
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