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 The latest round of nuclear diplomacy, being held in a luxury
hotel in Austria's capital, kicked off with a bilateral meeting
between Iran and the European Union on Wednesday.
Catherine Ray, spokeswoman for European Union foreign policy chief
Federica Mogherini, said on Twitter that senior foreign policy
officials from Iran, six world powers including Britain, China,
France, Germany, Russia, and the United States and the EU will meet
on Friday.
Western diplomats in New York said U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif were
expected to meet next week on the sidelines of the five-year review
conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
One diplomat said the bilateral meeting at U.N. headquarters would
focus on making progress toward a final nuclear agreement between
Tehran and six world powers, though other issues could arise.
U.N. officials said Kerry and Zarif are expected to address the
conference on Monday, the opening day of the month-long session. So
far, the diplomats said, there are no plans for a full meeting of
Iran and the six powers in New York during the April 27 to May 22
conference, though that could change.
Iran's nuclear negotiator Hamid Baidinejad told Iranian state
television that "drafting the final deal has started," declining to
give further details. Months ago both sides announced that a final
draft had been started.
Iran and the other countries in the talks reached a tentative deal
on April 2 and now aim to finalize the details by a self-imposed end
of June deadline.
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Under the framework agreement, Iran agreed to slash the number of
uranium enrichment centrifuges it operates and to allow more
intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) in exchange for sanctions relief.
Diplomats need to iron out details about the timing of sanctions
relief, the future of Iran's atomic research and development
program, the exact nature of the IAEA's monitoring regime and what
kind of uranium stockpile Tehran will be allowed to keep under any
final deal.
The timing of sanctions relief was top of the agenda at Wednesday's
talks.
Iran has said economic sanctions must be lifted as soon as any final
deal is signed, while the United States wants a gradual lifting of
restrictions.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Louis Charbonneau; Editing by
Crispian Balmer, Toni Reinhold)
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