Mar 7, 2022, 12:09 PM

Iran-US talks on prisoner exchange has made progress: spox.

Iran-US talks on prisoner exchange has made progress: spox.

TEHRAN, Mar. 07 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Monday that the negotiations between Iran and the United States on the issue of the prisoner exchange have made progress, adding Iran is waiting for their conclusion.

Tehran, IAEA jointly agreed on closing open cases within around 2 months

Referring to the recent visit of the IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi to Tehran and describing it as successful, Khatibzadeh in his weekly conference on Monday said that during the visit Iran and IAEA made a multi-stage agreement on comprehensive technical cooperation.

Citing that Iran has agreed to reply to the several questions raised by the IAEA about some sites in Iran within about two months, Khatibzaeh added that there is a direct link between the questions and the agreement in Vienna. The agreement with IAEA should be reached simultaneously with the agreement in Vienna and should also be considered as a part of a possible general Vienna agreement.

Vienna talks between Iran and P4+1

An agreement can't be reached until a few key remaining issues are all agreed upon, he continued.

"The remaining issues that is still matter of dispute are less than the number of fingers on one hand, if no one adds a new topic," the spokesman also said.

"They (negotiating parties) are all waiting for a response from the United States. If it has a logical approach and takes into account the P4 + 1 and Iran's concerns, and an appropriate response is given by Washington, an agreement is within reach in the shortest possible time."

Answering a question on China's new demands on negotiations, Khatibzadeh said that China's approach to the talks is one of the most constructive ones and Iran seeks to move forward with China in this context. 

Speaking of the Russian Foreign Minister's remarks who said that Western sanctions against Russia should not affect Russian-Iranian relations, the Iranian spokesman stated, "Iran's peaceful nuclear cooperation should not be limited and should not be affected by any sanctions, including Iran's peaceful cooperation with Russia and China."

"Russia's approach has been constructive in reaching a group agreement in Vienna," he added.

Rejecting any news on Russia leaving JCPOA, Khatibzadeh said that Russia has been a responsible member of the talks.

Iran helping Ukrainian-Russian negotiations result in an immediate ceasefire

Referring to the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, Khatibzadeh noted that Iran is working with Russia and other parties for negotiations on an immediate ceasefire to take place.

"There are serious concerns in Russia about US and NATO provocations. The agreement between former Russia and the Soviet Union with NATO has been ignored and must be addressed, but war is not the solution, and the people must stay out of conflicts," he added.

Elsewhere, the spokesman pointed to the issue of exchanging prisoners between Iran and the US and said that the negotiations between Iran and the US in this regard that Tehran is still wating for the negotiations' conclusion.

He added, "If the American side fulfills its obligations and does not withdraw suddenly, we can close one of the humanitarian cases that have been Iran's priority."

It is up to the US to make political decisions to revive JCPOA 

The senior Iranian diplomat stressed that Iran makes decisions based on US behavior, not on non-transparent messages, adding that the previous US administration's Maximum Pressure Campaign is still in place.

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