Major news in Iran on Jun 11: Reneging on agreements has slowed progress of talks, Iran tells 5+1

Top news in <Tehran Times>: Reneging on agreements has slowed progress of talks, Iran tells 5+1

The deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has said that a reluctance by the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) to adhere to the agreements made during the previous round of talks between Iran and world powers has slowed the progress of negotiations.

Ali Baqeri made the remarks in a letter to the deputy secretary general for political affairs of the European External Action Service, Helga Schmid, which was published on Sunday.

Iran and the 5+1 group held a new round of talks in Baghdad on May 23 and 24 and agreed to continue their negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program in Moscow on June 18 and 19.

After the Baghdad talks, Schmid and Baqeri were tasked with drawing up an agenda for the Moscow talks.

Baqeri also said that at the Baghdad meeting it was concluded that the Moscow talks would be successful if the representatives of the two sides could draw up an agenda for the talks based on the proposals made by Iran and the 5+1 group.

“Why do you avoid holding meetings between the deputies and experts in order to set an agenda for the next round of talks contrary to the agreements (made) in Baghdad?”

There will be no guarantee for the success of the talks if the agreements made at each round of the talks cannot be successfully pursued by the two sides, he added.

Five days after the Baghdad talks, Baqeri sent a letter to Schmid, announcing Iran’s readiness to hold meetings between experts from the two sides.

In his letter, Baqeri wrote, “The success of the Moscow meeting depends on making the necessary preparations and drawing up a comprehensive agenda.”

Later, Baqeri sent another letter to Schmid emphasizing the need to hold preliminary meetings.

On June 8, Schmid wrote a letter to Baqeri, saying that Iran and world powers should engage on issues of substance to achieve concrete results at the Moscow talks.

news@theasian.asia