Iran, P5+1 resume negotiations on 4th day of nuclear talks
By Sara Rajabova
Iran and the P5+1 resumed the discussions on the fourth day of nuclear negotiations in Vienna on June 19.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held a meeting on the fourth day of nuclear talks between Tehran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear energy program.
Zarif and Ashton resumed discussions to exchange views on the process of preparing the draft text of a comprehensive deal between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Russia, China, France, Britain, and the United States - plus Germany.
Zarif also told reporters after talks on June 18 that Iran and P5+1 had begun drafting a final deal despite a number of differences that yet remained unresolved.
He said that "the differences are still fundamental, but our colleagues are right now working on them and we hope things would move forward."
Zarif added if the P5+1 group negotiators showed the political will a comprehensive agreement could be reached by the July 20 deadline.
The latest Vienna talks come after Iran held several bilateral nuclear talks with delegations from the United States, France, Russia and Germany.
The high-level nuclear talks on Iran's nuclear program in Vienna were kicked off on June 16.
Iran and the six world powers have been discussing ways to iron out their differences and start drafting a final deal that would end the West's dispute with Iran over the country's nuclear energy program.
In November 2013, the two sides signed an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva that came into force on January 20.
Under the deal, the six countries agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.
The next round of high-profile negotiations is scheduled for June 16-20 in the Austrian capital, Vienna.