Iranian Negotiator: Iran, World Powers to Wrap Up Talks on Saturday

TEHRAN (FNA)- Member of the Iranian team of negotiators and Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Undersecretary Ali Baqeri informed that the talks between Tehran and the six world powers in Istanbul Turkey will last for one day

"The talks will be held in one day and will not continue for a second day," Baqeri told reporters in Istanbul Friday evening and after meeting the head of the Russian delegation to the talks Sergey Ryabkov at Iran's consulate office.

Baqeri and the EU foreign policy deputy chief were in charge of discussions over the date and venue of the talks.

On Friday and prior to his remarks to the reporters, Baqeri met with the heads of the Chinese and Russian delegations.

During the first meeting, Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of Beijing's delegation to the Istanbul talks Ma Zhaoxu underlined the necessity for a lesser hostile attitude by the West towards Iran.

The Chinese official also presented some offers on how to move forward, and noted, "The first round of talks should focus on determining the general principles and objectives of the talks in a bid to guarantee a calm start for the trend of the negotiations."

Baqeri, for his part, said that Iran has entered the talks with new initiatives and with a constructive attitude.

Also, Head of the Russian delegation Sergey Ryabkov told reporters before his meeting with Baqeri that there is no shred of evidence to indicate that Iran is running a military nuclear activity.

"I have never witnessed any proof or document indicating that Iran's nuclear activity is military," Ryabkov, a Russian deputy foreign minister, told reporters at Iran's consulate office in Istanbul on Friday.

"I believe that we should be seeking agreements, instead of magnifying differences, in order to resolve the issue," he added.

Asked to comment on Iran's right to enrich uranium, the Russian diplomat said, "According to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) the Islamic Republic of Iran is entitled to the right to make use of the nuclear energy, but this right is accompanied by some responsibilities."

After a year of stalled talks, Iran and the G5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) eventually accepted to resume their negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 14 and in case of good progress hold a second round of talks in Iraq's capital city, Baghdad.

The last meeting between the two sides took place in Istanbul in January 2011. Iran and the G5+1 had also held two rounds of multifaceted talks in Geneva in December 2010.

The Iranian team of negotiators is led by Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili, while delegations of the six world powers are headed by EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton.