MOSCOW, June 18 (Itar-Tass) —— The negotiations between Iran and the Sextet of international mediators (Russia, Great Britain, China, the United States, France and Germany) on the settlement of the Iranian nuclear dossier will begin here on Monday. The Moscow meeting continues the Baghdad round of negotiations. The negotiators are expected to discuss in detail the initiatives, which were formulated at the Baghdad negotiations, including the Sextet initiative, which concerns probable solutions to the problem of ongoing Iranian uranium enrichment to 20%.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that “a huge scope of ideas and initiatives was developed,” and the Russian capital is planning to discuss a working document, which the Sextet group passed to Iran, in fruitful and productive ways.
The experts believe that the negotiations will be hard, because despite the positive atmosphere of the Baghdad round Tehran had made a statement later that the country “does not see any grounds to go into concessions over the 20% uranium enrichment, because Iran produces the exact necessary amount of uranium.” Iran gives as an argument the fact that the fuel is needed for the republic to ensure the operation of the Tehran research reactor, which is used for medical purposes. Meanwhile, according to the IAEA report, Iran has increased the low-enriched uranium reserves from 110 kilograms to 145 kilograms for the last three months. The media reports that the traces of uranium enrichment to 27% were found in Iran were quite highly publicized. The IAEA experts already launched consultations with Tehran.
The observers do not rule out that the question of Iran’s plans to launch the construction of a second power unit at the Bushehr nuclear power plant with the power capacity of 1,000 MW in 2013 will be raised. The world community has some questions over Iranian intentions to build 20 nuclear power units in the future.
It is not ruled out that the Iranian delegation will raise the problem of sanctions, particularly those unilateral sanctions that the United States and the European Union imposed. Russia already stated that such measures are “absolutely counterproductive.” “The sanctions, which were already introduced by the UN Security Council, and unilateral sanctions of some countries, undermine our joint efforts, we oppose any further unilateral restricting measures,” Sergei Lavrov said.
Although many experts and political scientists share the opinion that the Moscow round will hardly be a breakthrough, it is very important all the same, because this round of negotiations provides for a continuous negotiating process. “The participants in the meeting will be inclined to hold a constructive dialogue and consistent rapprochement of the positions,” spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich said. “We are preparing for a serious conversation. We hope that this round will make it possible to advance in the settlement of the Iranian nuclear problem,” he said. Iran also stated that the country is optimistic about an upcoming round of negotiations with the Sextet. Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili had a telephone conversation with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton to discuss the agenda of the Moscow meeting.