BRISBANE, November 15 (Sputnik) — The chances to reach an agreement on Iranian nuclear issue during the upcoming P5+1 group talks with Tehran are high, as the strategy of negotiations has been worked out thoroughly and well-developed proposals exist, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Saturday.
“I think that chances do not simply exist, but the chances are high. During all the time of negotiations between P5+1 group with Iran, the participants have never been so close to an agreement, and have never had such a well-developed structure, where the details have been worked out thoroughly, every single unresolved question has been analyzed, studied, the options have been developed, as well as alternatives,” Ryabkov told journalists.
“Period from the 18 until the 24 [of November 2014] is enough to take such decisions, however, there are no guarantees that the decisions will be made in the capitals, which have the major problems with the existing decisions, such as Washington and Tehran. There is a possibility, and we will do our best to transform the possibility into a result,” Ryabkov added.
Ryabkov said that if the agreement is reached, the document would have to be legally binding, and considered as an element of the international law.
The West and Israel have long accused Iran of attempting to develop a nuclear weapon under the guise of a civilian nuclear program, while Tehran argues that its nuclear development is aimed purely at meeting the country's growing energy needs and achieving other peaceful goals.
In November 2013, during talks held in Geneva, the P5+1 group of international mediators comprising Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Germany agreed to reach a deal with the Tehran delegation guaranteeing the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program by July 2014. The deadline for the agreement was later postponed to November 24, 2014.
The next round of talks is scheduled to take place in Vienna on November 18-24.
