Iran nuclear talks ‘going well’

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who is leading Moscow’s delegation at nuclear talks, said that things were “going well”.

“The atmosphere is constructive, the conversation is business-like. As of the moment, things are going well,” Interfax quoted Ryabkov as saying in Istanbul, where the talks were being held.

It is hoped the discussions could, at least for the time being, dampen speculation that Israel might launch military strikes on Iranian atomic sites to prevent its enemy from obtaining nuclear arms.

Both sides say they are ready at the meeting to work towards resolving the deepening dispute over the nuclear programme which the West suspects is geared towards achieving a nuclear arms capability, but which Iran says has purely peaceful purposes.

“I hope what we will see today is the beginnings of a sustained process,” said European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton who is also the main representative of the United States, France, Russia, China, Germany and Britain at the talks.

Iran will enter negotiations with a constructive attitude and will insist on its rights. Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator

“What we are here to do is to find ways in which we can build confidence between us and ways in which we can demonstrate that Iran is moving away from a nuclear weapons programme,” she said in a statement.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator told Ashton at a dinner on Friday he hoped the major powers would “win the Iranian nation’s trust in this round of negotiations.

“Iran will enter negotiations with a constructive attitude and will insist on its rights,” Iranian state television quoted him as saying.

“For their own reasons, each side wants to give diplomacy a chance at this point, to start a process rather than to force a quick fix,” said analyst Michael Adler at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

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Iran must show that it is willing to enter “serious engagement”, one senior diplomat said, suggesting Saturday’s discussions were unlikely to go into detailed issues.

“My tip is to set your sights low,” the diplomat said. “It is not part of our game plan for tomorrow to lay out a long list of specific demands and conditions. They know what we think about all these things.”

Iran says it will propose “new initiatives” in Istanbul, but it is unclear whether this means it is now prepared to discuss curbs to its uranium enrichment programme.

“Iran is sending signals they want a serious and constructive meeting,” another diplomat said.

The West accuses Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Israel – believed to be the only Middle East state with an atomic arsenal – sees Iran’s atomic plans as a threat to its existence. Iran has threatened to retaliate for any attack by closing a major oil shipping route.