Iran, China officials meet in Moscow ahead of talks

By Areeb Hasni Jun 17th, 2012 ( No Comment )

Iranian and Chinese officials met in Moscow ahead of Iran-P5+1 talks on Sunday to discuss the agenda.

Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Baqeri and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu met in the Iranian embassy building.

Iran and the P5+1 – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany – are scheduled to hold their third round of talks in the Russian capital’s Golden Ring Hotel on June 18, and 19, Press TV reported.

The two sides held three sessions of plenary talks in Baghdad on May 23 and 24 after an earlier round of negotiations in the Turkish city of Istanbul in mid-April.

Saeed Jalili, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and Tehran’s top nuclear negotiator, arrived in Moscow for the talks on Sunday

He said, “Iran’s rights in the area of nuclear technology, including the right to enrich uranium, must be recognized and respected.”

He once again expressed Iran’s readiness to cooperate and enter talks with “different countries on a variety of issues, including collaborations in the field of nuclear energy,” insisting, however, that such talks must pursue a clear strategy to bear fruit, “which is what we have been stressing throughout the talks in Istanbul and Baghdad.”

“We view this round of talks with optimism,” he added.