VIENNA, October 16. /TASS/. Russia is satisfied with the results of the Vienna round of talks between the P5+1 group and Iran, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday.
“The general result, and I think this point of view may be shared by all, is that there is progress. We are not going around in circles, but the situation on key problems has not changed,” he told journalists.
He admitted that problems of Iran’s enrichment programme, the schedule for sanction lifting and the future of the reactor in Arak “have not been settled.” Moreover, in his words, “there is a series of subjects that cannot be categorized as completely agreed, let alone, committed to paper,” Ryabkov said. “These include issues of inspection and transparency, duration of the agreement and some other subjects that are essential for a compromise and the final package.
A comprehensive agreement between the P5+1 group and Teheran on Iran’s nuclear programme will require no ratification, Ryabkov said.
“We do not expect that the document would require ratification procedures,” he said. “We are negotiating a binding document, but under a generally recognized doctrine international political liabilities are equated with legal.”
However, he admitted that some resolutions of the United Nations Security Council on Iran will need to be adjusted. “Bearing in mind the fact that a number of aspects of the situation around the Iranian nuclear programme are regulated this or that way by resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, including those providing for sanctions, some new solutions will be needed to reflect the changing situation and work to give a legal status to agreements that are being prepared,” Ryabkov said.
Russia may develop any forms of cooperation with Iran in the peaceful use of atomic energy but will do that in strict compliance with international law,Ryabkov said.
“We regret that different aspects of our dialogue and our cooperation with Iranian partners in the nuclear sector are becoming subject to speculations and public discussions,” he said commenting on media reports saying Russia would remove low-enriched uranium from Iran.
“All forms of cooperation that we’re using and can be used in the future fully correspond to the requirements of international non-proliferation regimes and the existing resolutions of the Security Council,” Ryabkov said.
“Naturally, they catch up with the norms of Russian legislation and by-laws by 100% I’d like to stress that we have one of the highest standards in this sphere - the sphere of export control and non-proliferation,” he said.
“Nuclear cooperation with Iran is mutually advantageous. It does not create any risks. This is recognised by the partners. Russia is doing what it can do by contributing to yielding results at the talks between the P5+1 and Iran. We intend to act this way in the future,” Ryabkov said.
“We are not ruling out any forms of future cooperation with Iran in a peaceful civilian sphere but we are going to do that in strict compliance with international law and within the framework of an agreement which is currently being drafted,” Ryabkov said.
“It is premature to discuss concrete forms of such cooperation. It can have absolutely different forms, including those that are not in practice in relations between Moscow and Tehran,” he said.