Nuclear talks face many differences: says Rouhani

TEHRAN: There are still “many differences over details” of a nuclear deal Iran and world powers are trying to conclude by June 30, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday.
Iranian negotiators and those of the P5+1 group (Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States) are meeting in Vienna to clinch a deal that would guarantee the strictly peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of punishing international sanctions.
“The general framework that the Islamic Republic of Iran wants is accepted by the P5+1 group but there are still many differences in the details that must be addressed,” Rouhani told a press conference on the occasion of the second anniversary of his election.
“We are very serious in the negotiations. We do not seek to gain time, but at the same time we are not captives of time. We are not in a hurry but we try to use every opportunity to reach a good deal,” he added.
On Friday, a senior Russian official said there had been a “very worrying” slowdown in progress in the talks.
“This is very worrying to us because there is very little time before the deadline and we urgently need to enter the final stage,” said chief Moscow negotiator Sergei Ryabkov.