Brussels, 08/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 8 November, the French, UK, German and US foreign affairs ministers - Laurent Fabius, William Hague, Guido Westerwelle and John Kerry respectively - held urgent meetings in Geneva to make progress on the discussions on the Iranian nuclear programme.
On his arrival at around 3.30pm, Kerry said that there were still “important gaps that have to be closed”, and he hoped to be able to “narrow those differences”. “There are still some very important issues on the table that are unresolved. It is important for those to be properly, thoroughly addressed”. He said that there was no agreement at this stage but that the Western countries are working hard. Fabius also said on his arrival that “there is progress but nothing is yet in the bag. We want an agreement which is a solid response to the concerns about the nuclear issue”. He added that he had come in person because “this negotiation is difficult”. UK Prime Minister David Cameron and France's President François Hollande are in agreement that the constructive discussions in Geneva offer the chance to make real progress, according to Cameron.
On Friday, the discussions continued in small groups or bilaterally between the members of the E3+3 group, or with Iran's Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif. At the time of going to press, Zarif was joining High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Kerry for a trilateral meeting, after Ashton and Kerry had already held a bilateral meeting.
According to Iran's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi, the two sides are working on a “joint statement”. According to Fabius, an “interim text is currently being discussed”. In Fabius's view, “this is a step which could be important and which requires a discussion at ministerial level” (our translation).
In its proposal, which was not made public, Iran would agree to freeze part of its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some international sanctions, according to French news agency AFP. (CG/transl.fl)