Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt), March 14 (IANS) US Secretary of State John Kerry said here on Saturday that talks with Iran over its nuclear programme are still on, noting that there are important gaps in the way of reaching an agreement.
Kerry’s comments came during a press conference on the fringe of his participation in Egypt’s three-day economic meeting in the Red Sea resort city Sharm El-Sheikh.
The US official said he needed to have more discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif with the goal of reaching a possible deal by the end of this month, Xinhua news agency reported.
Kerry will head to Switzerland on Sunday for the talks.
“I can’t tell you whether or not we can get a deal,” Kerry told reporters, adding that talks have potential to ensure that the Iranian nuclear program is only meant for peaceful purposes.
He added that Iran might say no to the new deal, but negotiations were the best solution to this issue.
Iran has been a target of UN sanctions due to its alleged attempts to build nuclear weapons. The West accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear programme, which Iran has denied, insisting that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.
In November 2013, Iran accepted to halt enrichment above 5 percent and neutralising its stockpile of near 20 percent uranium by means of dilution or converting and to not installing more centrifuges in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
The six major world countries — the US, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia — had set a June deadline to forge a final and comprehensive agreement after differences over the number of centrifuges Tehran could keep clouded talks and extend negotiations for several more months.
Commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian stalled peace process, Kerry said the US was hopeful that next week’s Israeli elections would help resume the peace negotiations.
“The United States remains hopeful that whatever the choice that the people of Israel make, that there will be an ability to be able to move forward on those efforts,” Kerry said.
A closed meeting was held on Friday between the Egyptian, Jordanian, and Palestinian leaders and Kerry on the sidelines of the Egypt economic conference.