LAUSANNE (Sputnik) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have begun a bilateral meeting at a Swiss hotel as Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne approach the March 31 deadline, a Sputnik correspondent reported Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Lavrov held one-on-one talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The top Russian diplomat is also expected to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other foreign representatives.
#Lavrov: I'm not paid for being optimistic, as he starts bilateral with #Kerry in Beau Rivage as part of #IranTalks
— Dasha Chernyshova (@DaChernyshova) 29 Март 2015
All meetings are held in the framework of a new round of talks between Iran and six world powers mediators – Britain, France, China, Russia, the United States and Germany. They are aimed at pressuring Tehran to curtail its nuclear ambitions in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that have crippled the nation's economy.
The accords are to guarantee a peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program, increase oversight of its nuclear facilities and cut the number of centrifuges that Tehran will be allowed to keep to enrich uranium.