TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that a nuclear agreement is within reach if the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) shows commitment to the tentative nuclear agreement reached in Lausanne on April 2.

The statement came as Zarif and his U.S. counterpart John Kerry are set to meet for nuclear talks in Geneva on Saturday.

“If the other side is committed to an agreement that was reached in Lausanne and respects it and does not rely on subjective interpretations, an agreement is definitely within reach,” Zarif stated during a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias in Athens on Thursday.

He said, “If people insist on excessive demands in renegotiations, then it will be difficult to envisage an agreement even without a deadline.”

----------- ‘Have foot in reality, not in illusions’

On Wednesday Zarif’s deputy Abbas Araqchi said the June 30 deadline for a nuclear deal might be extended. But the United States said it was not considering an extension despite comments from France and Iran indicating there was wiggle room.

“I am hopeful we will reach a final conclusion within a reasonable period of time,” Zarif said. “In order to do that people need to be realistic, people need to have their foot in reality, not in illusions.”

According to Reuters, Zarif said Iran could not accept any solution that is “less than respectful, less than dignified.

“We can only have agreements in which both sides can claim that they have achieved positive results. You need to either win together, or lose together.

“Iran, with millennia of history, will not be intimidated.”

----Greece keen to expand energy ties with Iran-----

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said his country is keen to expand economic relations with Iran, especially in the energy, tourism, and agriculture fields.

Kotzias also pledged to take advantage of all its potentials to remove obstacles on the way of Iran-EU cooperation.

-----------Greek PM says sanctions against Iran are ‘unfair’

In a meeting with Zarif on Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that sanctions against Iran are “unfair”.

Tsipras also called for expansion of cooperation with Iran.

He also said the resolution of the Iran nuclear issue can benefit regional security.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that terrorist actions of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are a source of common concern and all countries should take action against the group.

Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias also said the international community should not be silent on ISIL’s crimes and should counter the roots of the terrorist group.

He added that Iran plays an “important and strategic” role in establishing peace and stability in the region and the world.


NA/PA