The United States say Iran must take “concrete steps” to ease international concern about its nuclear program in time for this month’s talks with the G5+1 in Moscow.
Speaking in Oslo, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters that the U.S. will continue negotiations with Iran alongside the five other world powers.
Clinton said: “Our negotiations with Iran have never been about intentions or sincerity, but about actions and results.” She added that the U.S. is now looking for “concrete actions” at the talks in Russia later this month.
In a statement that appeared to be setting a deadline for Iran, Clinton said: “We will know by the next meeting in Moscow in a few weeks whether Iran is prepared to take those actions. There are lots of concerns that we continue to have about their intentions, but we will judge them by their actions. And we will determine whether those actions are sufficient to meet their obligations.”
The world powers met with the Iranian delegation in Istanbul in April, and following those talks, which both sides deemed positive, expectations were high for last month’s scheduled meeting in Baghdad.
However, the Baghdad talks closed without any concrete breakthroughs, with the only agreement being to meet again in Moscow this month.
Analysts now have low expectations for any agreement at the Moscow talks, and Iran has said it will not respond to the language of pressure and sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi also touched on the Moscow talks on Friday, saying: “The Islamic Republic has been firm and serous in the negotiations with the G5+1 and has entered the negotiations in good faith and with the aim of resolving the issues, so we hope that in the coming Moscow talks they take a positive approach.”
He admitted that the negotiations are “tough” and both sides must do their part to speed up the process towards a “good and satisfying” resolution.
