Following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi expressed optimism regarding the coming negotiations in Moscow.
At a news conference in Tehran on Wednesday, held jointly with his Russian counterpart, Salehi said: “The two meetings held [in Istanbul in April 2012 and in Baghdad in May 2012] were on the right track, and we hope that the Moscow meeting will also proceed in a constructive way.”
Lavrov visited Iran just days ahead of talks scheduled for June 18 in Moscow, meeting with Minister Salehi as well as Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator and head of the Supreme Council of National Security.
While the details of Lavrov’s meeting with Jalili were not publicized, both the Russian and Iranian foreign ministers were upbeat about the prospects for the coming Moscow talks.
Lavrov said: “If the international community takes a serious stance that is reflected in the Security Council’s resolutions, then the case is clear; on the other hand, unilateral sanctions are not constructive.”
He added: “The unanimous stance of the international community is clear in the Security Council’s resolutions. We believe it is wrong to fail the demands of these resolutions; however, we also believe that if there has been a group decision, there must be no unilateral action.
Iran has not so far complied with the UN resolution demands to suspend its uranium enrichment program.
The Iranian Foreign Minister stressed the positive direction of the talks and called for patience in bringing the negotiations to fruition.
