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Iran's nuclear program

Iran, P5+1 will start talks in Vienna June 2 to prepare regular round of consultations

The Vienna meeting will be held in parallel with a session of the IAEA Board of Governors

TEHRAN, May 31 /ITAR-TASS/. Iran’s high-ranking diplomat has said Iranian experts and the P5+1 (five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany) will meet for talks in Vienna on June 2 to prepare the regular round of consultations scheduled for June 16-20.

The West will be represented by Stephen Clement, an aide to the European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Director General for Political and International Affairs Hamid Baeidinejad said on Saturday.

The Vienna meeting will be held in parallel with a session of the IAEA Board of Governors that will last from June 2 to June 6, he said.

Experts, lawyers and negotiators are to prepare a regular round of consultations at the level of political directors, Baeidinejad said.

This week Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton have met for unofficial talks to coordinate the date of the regular round of consultations.

The final purpose of the consultations is to work out a comprehensive agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme that will guarantee the exclusively peaceful nature of Tehran’s research works and make it possible to lift unilateral sanctions and the U.N. sanctions. Despite the existing difficulties the parties hope to coordinate the document by July 20.

The P5+1 is a group of countries which in 2006 joined the diplomatic efforts with Iran in regard to its nuclear program. The term refers to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, namely the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

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