TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araguchi is scheduled to travel to Moscow on Thursday and sends a message to leaders of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Araghchi reports that he will meet briefly with his counterpart before accepting him as president.
The top diplomat then travels to the Italian capital, where he engages in indirect consultations with the envoy of the US Special President, Steve Witkov. The two countries held the first round of indirect negotiations in Muscat last week, with Omani’s foreign minister being mediated. They discussed Tehran’s nuclear program and anti-Iran’s US sanctions.
The first encounter with Iran ended with a positive note, with both sides describing the lecture as “positive” and “constructive.” However, subsequent remarks by Witkov may have weakened the prospects for similar outcomes in future rounds, saying Iran “must stop and eliminate” its nuclear enrichment program in order to reach a deal with Washington.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Aragut said enrichment of uranium as part of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program was “unnegotiable.”
“Iran’s enrichment (program) is a realistic and authentic issue and is ready to build trust on potential concerns, but the enrichment issue is unnegotiable,” Araguchi told reporters.
Pointing to the continued so-called US pressure campaign against Iran during negotiations, the Iranian Foreign Minister said, “Both our position and our actions are clear. They achieve nothing by pressure. They are accompanied by complete calm and tranquility without being affected by pressure or current.”
Araguchi also denounced the “contradictory and contradictory positions” coming out of the Trump administration ahead of talks on Saturday.
“As I mentioned, during this time, we have heard contradictory and contradictory positions. Mr. Witkov has spoken in several ways so far. The actual position will be clear at the negotiation table,” said the top Iranian diplomat.
“However, we need to recognize the true views of the US during the negotiation session. If we have a constructive position, we hope that negotiations on a potential agreement framework can be launched.