ANKARA
The U.K.’s foreign minister has said that “no deal is better than a bad deal” as he arrived in Vienna for talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Philip Hammond told reporters Sunday that "major differences" remained over the Iranian nuclear talks, while the EU’s foreign policy chief said discussions to reach a final agreement might be extended for some days.
Foreign ministers of Iran and the P5+1 countries -- China, Russia, the U.S., the U.K., France plus Germany -- are holding talks in Austria, aiming to translate progress made in Switzerland in April into a final agreement. The deadline is June 30, but parties say talks may be extended.
Hammond told reporters that there were still differences in detailing what was agreed in Lausanne on April 2.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini told media that “today with the ministers we will review all the work that has been done [and] focus on the main political points that are still open”.
“We stick to the foreseen timetable,” Mogherini said but added: “Obviously we have some flexibility as it was the case in Switzerland in April. If a few additional days are needed, we can take them.”
She continued: “The important thing is to manage to translate the political understanding we got a few months ago into a finalized agreement. I am rather positive that if there's strong political will from all the parties, we can get there.”
Iran and the P5+1 countries reached a landmark framework deal in April over Tehran's uranium-enrichment program and nuclear activities and are now trying to complete the comprehensive agreement.
Iran wants a freeze on its $100-billion assets to be lifted plus the immediate ending of international sanctions imposed on it.
However, the U.S. wants these sanctions to be removed gradually and seeks full access to Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.