Iran meticulously continues Vienna talks; Khatibzadeh
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Tehran continues Vienna talks with meticulousness as the country's stance has already been declared.
Saeed Khatibzadeh said so at his weekly press briefing while commenting on remarks made by Permanent Representative of Russia to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov about the sixth round of talks in the Austrian capital.
"The fifth round of the Vienna talks on JCPOA is underway. As of now, there are no plans for the sixth," Ulyanov said through a Twitter post on Sunday.
As Khatibzadeh announced, each round of talks has the capacity to be final.
Sides have reached significant achievements; meanwhile, key issues have remained, he stressed adding, "Basically, we don't hurry."
Each of three working groups achieved remarkable progress, but key issues have [still] remained, the spokesman noted.
The Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) held its first session of the fifth round of talks on Tuesday (May 25) in Vienna, Austria, with participation of Iran and 4+1 countries.
About the talks, Iran’s top negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, said sides of the negotiations are even eager to arrive at a conclusion during this round of talks.
As the spokesman said at his briefing, the recent visit of the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Baku and Yerevan focused on the process of peace.
The Islamic Republic of Iran attaches great importance to developments on its borders with the Caucasus region, Khatibzadeh underlined.
Turning to the issue of an indigenous group grave found in Canada, the spokesman said it was a big tragedy in the history of Canada that could be labeled as nothing less than a genocide, he added.
Expressing sympathy with the First Nations of Canada, he said that is it unfortunate that a country with such a tragedy in its history is hiding behind humanitarian masks.
Asked about Reuters news that the US has bought one million barrels of Iran's oil, the spokesman said he is not informed about the issue.
The United States should finally decide whether it is to continue policies of the previous government or not, Khatibzadeh stressed.
About the latest developments in the Tehran-Riyadh talks, the spokesman said it is not normal to release details of negotiations before any agreements.
Meanwhile, as he noted, the negotiations are underway in a constructive atmosphere.
Asked whether there is a plan for dispatching Iranian pilgrims to this year's Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia, Khatibzadeh said consultations are underway.
In response to a question that whether the US has accepted to remove Trump's sanctions against Iran, the spokesman said Tehran has declared its stance strongly and clearly; and important decisions should be taken about key issues.
Further, about the news which says that two Iranian ships are on their way to Venezuela and the US threats exist, the spokesman said that Iran is present in the international waters as it has the right to be.
No country can violate this right, he added.
About the latest situation of talks on the exchange of prisoners between Iran and the US, the spokesman said Iran rejects any relations between Vienna talks and negotiations about the exchange of prisoners.
If the US facilitates this humanitarian issue, a better atmosphere will be created for talks in Vienna, he added.
Also about the comprehensive cooperation document between Iran and Afghanistan, Khatibzadeh said 99 percent of the document has already been completed; and just one or two issues have remained that Afghanistan has not decided on yet.
Iran has long borders with Afghanistan in the east of the country.
END