LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) Mar 28, 2015 – The foreign ministers of France and Germany joined the top U.S. and Iranian diplomats on Saturday to help break an impasse in nuclear negotiations as major powers and Iran closed in on a two- or three-page accord that could form the basis of a long-term deal.
The negotiations, in progress for nearly 18 months, aim to hammer out an accord whereby Iran halts sensitive nuclear work in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, with the ultimate aim of reducing the risk of a war in the Middle East.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have been in Lausanne for days to try to reach a preliminary deal by a self-imposed deadline of March 31, and they held several rounds of talks on Saturday.
But close as they have come to the outline of an agreement, the two sides still have deep disagreements that could wreck a deal.
Western officials close to the talks said it was up to Iran to compromise on the remaining sticking points, which include Tehran’s ambitions concerning nuclear research and development and the immediate removal of U.N. sanctions.
“The serious but difficult work continues,” a senior U.S. State Department official said. “We expect the pace to intensify as we assess if an understanding is possible.”
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters upon arrival in Lausanne that he hoped for “a robust agreement”.
“Iran has the right to civil nuclear power, but with regard to the atomic bomb, it’s ’no’,” he said.
“We have moved forward on certain points, but on others not enough,” he added.
Steinmeier compared the talks to the final stage of a mountain climb.
“The endgame of the long negotiations has begun,” he said. “And here, with a view of the Swiss mountains, I’m reminded that as one sees the cross on the summit the final meters are the most difficult but also the decisive ones.”