High-level US and Iran officials will hold bilateral talks in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday, according to both Washington and Tehran.
The American delegation will be led by Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and the chief US negotiator, Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. Vice President Joe Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan will also participate.
A “senior US Administration official” said that, at “an important juncture” of talks, “We believe we need to engage in as much active diplomacy as we can to test whether we can reach a diplomatic solution with Iran on its nuclear program.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is likely to lead the Iranian team.
The Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, China, Russia, Germany, and France) are seeking a comprehensive nuclear agreement by July 20 when an interim Joint Plan of Agreement expires.5th round of discussions on the comprehensive deal will be held in Vienna on June 16.
Araqchi said Iran will hold a separate bilateral meeting with Russian negotiators in Rome on June 11-12.
Read more: http://backchannel.al-monitor.com/index.php/2014/06/8432/breaking-us-iran-to-hold-bilateral-nuclear-talks-in-geneva/#ixzz33xTeZZDh
Other US officials said this week that they are not expecting a resolution by July 20 and are preparing for extension of the interim Agreement as talks continue.
The first acknowledged bilateral meetings between the US and Iran in 30 years — since the 1979 Islamic Revolution — were brief sessions on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Geneva in October 2009. The encounters have become established as part of the Iran-5+1 negotiations over the last two years.
