GENEVA: Diplomats grappled to secure a landmark deal at a third day of talks on Iran's nuclear programme Saturday, but cracks were emerging among world powers after France raised concerns.
The US, British, French, German and Russian foreign ministers rushed to Geneva to join the talks amid hopes of a breakthrough toward ending the decade-old standoff on Iran's nuclear efforts.
The hoped-for agreement -- seen as a first step ahead of further talks on a final deal -- could see Iran freeze parts of its nuclear programme for as long as six months in exchange for some relief from the sanctions battering its economy.
Officials have repeatedly said progress is being made but cautioned that serious obstacles remain. France in particular was considered to have concerns about the deal, with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius saying there was "no certainty" of an agreement. "There has been progress but there is still distance" between the two sides, the ISNA news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying.
Zarif was speaking as he headed into key talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who cut short a Middle East tour to join the negotiations, and EU diplomatic chief Catherine Ashton, who has represented the world powers at the talks. In an apparent sign of frustration among the Iranians, their chief negotiator said a deal would need to be reached on Saturday or talks would be put on hold until a later date. "The negotiations will not go on tomorrow. Either they end tonight or there is another round," Iranian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as saying. Fabius earlier said Paris did not accept an initial draft of the deal as presented.
The French foreign minister cited calls for Iran to halt operations at its Arak nuclear reactor and questions about enriched uranium stockpiles as particular points of contention. "If these questions are not settled, it will not be possible" to reach a deal, Fabius told France Inter radio, saying a deal also needed "to take fully into account Israel's security concerns". Using unusually harsh language, a Western diplomat said France was complicating the talks. "The Americans, the EU and the Iranians have been working intensively together for months on this proposal, and this is nothing more than an attempt by Fabius to insert himself into relevance late in the negotiations," the diplomat told AFP. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt also chimed in on his official Twitter account, saying: "Seems as if the most difficult talks in Geneva are not with Iran but within the Western group. Not particularly good."