Not enough progress made in Iran nuclear talks, Fabius
French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius on Wednesday said that not enough progress has been made to reach a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme. Like his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Fabius left the talks in Switzerland after talks went past their midnight Tuesday deadline but said he was ready to return when necessary.
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"There has been progress, but not enough yet for ... us to be able to immediately reach a conclusion," Fabius told iTele television after attending a weekly cabinet meeting in Paris.
He said he was ready to go back to the talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne "as soon as is necessary" and had left his political director behind.
At the weekend Fabius said that he was insisting that the deal include mechanisms to ensure that Iran complies with its commitments, which include a promise not to develop nuclear weapons.
There were contradictory messages from participants in the talks, with Russia's Sergei Lavrov saying that "agreement in principle on all key aspects of the final settlement" had been reached, while China's Wang Yi said that "all parties must be prepared to meet each otehr halfway" in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was not present, claimed "concessions" offered in Lausanne, "would ensure a bad deal that would endanger Israel, the Middle East and the peace of the world".
Many fear that failure to reach an agreement may see the United States and Israel decide on military action to stop Iran's nuclear programme.
The proposed deal, which is expected to be finalised by 30 June, would see Iran scale back its nuclear programme to give the world ample notice of any attempt to make a nuclear bomb by extending the "breakout" time.
In return, Tehran is demanding the lifting of sanctions that have weakened its economy, a point repeated by Iranian negotiator Abbas Aragchi on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State John Kerry met Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif just before 1.00pm on Wednesday in Lausanne.
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