Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in Vienna earlier today and upon arrival in Austrian capital told media that a draft was written in New York meeting and asserted that “all parties have to remain committed to solutions agreed upon in Lausanne Statement and negotiations will be based on this framework.”
In response to a question about giving a number as percentage of progress in talks, Araghchi stated that “it is not possible to provide a figure; currently, we have a draft text the majority of which is agreed upon, however, some parts still remain source of disagreement. This could be on terms, phrases, sentences or paragraphs.”
Iranian deputy FM expressed hope that negotiations would bear final result before self-designated deadline by end of June. “Various factors, at the table or outside negotiation room, are hindering progress of talks and we are confronting them while we are simultaneously negotiating with the 5+1. We are very positive a final agreement can be reached even before the deadline.”
On parties involved in drafting the text, he said that Deputy EU Foreign Policy Chief Helga Schmid represented the Sextet, while experts from all sides are present in negotiations. “On Friday, deputy FMs from all parties will join the talks for a deputy-level meeting same day.”
Meanwhile, Araghchi added that separate bilateral talks with American and Chinese teams were also scheduled for Thursday. Another bilateral meeting with Russian envoys is also on the agenda of Iranian representatives. “Meeting with European states might be bilateral or multilateral.”
“Bilateral or multilateral talks between deputy FMs or political authorities of Iran and the 5+1 countries provide the opportunity to resolve differences and reach a final deal,” Araghchi concluded.
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