Time for nuclear talks ‘not unlimited’: France tells Iran

Paris – France warned Iran that negotiations over Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme could not go on forever, ahead of a fresh round of talks with major powers on the issue.

France’s top diplomat Laurent Fabius told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a meeting yesterday in Paris that “it is necessary for Iran to respond in a concrete and verifiable manner to the concerns of the international community and that the time for negotiations is not unlimited”.

The meeting between the two came before Zarif is to travel to Geneva for a new round of negotiations with the so-called P5+1 group — the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany.

The two-day talks beginning tomorrow would be the second round since the election of Iran’s current president Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate.

Meanwhile, the two ministers also discussed the Syrian crisis, with Fabius insisting that any peace talks “should lead to the establishment of a transitional government with full executive powers, including the presidency”.

World powers meeting yesterday in Geneva failed to set a date for the proposed Syria peace conference, although UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said he hoped that it would take place before year’s end.

The participation of Iran in the talks is controversial, with Russia insisting that Tehran must be part of the peace negotiations while Western powers are sceptical.