8th round of Vienna talks to focus on new joint document: Iran FM

Tehran, Dec 27 (IANS) Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the eighth round of Vienna nuclear talks between Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal will begin on Monday and focus on a “new and joint document.”

“Today we have a joint and acceptable document on the table of negotiators in Vienna,” Amir Abdollahian told reporters in Tehran on the sidelines of a conference about the history of Iran’s foreign relations on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Therefore, the earlier document reached in June was set aside and the next round of negotiations will focus on a new and joint document, which is both about the removal of sanctions and nuclear issue, reached in the previous round of meeting between Iran and the P4+1, he said.

The Iranian diplomat noted that the issue of guarantees and verification is one of the topics of this round of talks, adding that “the most important issue for us is to reach a point… where firstly Iranian oil is sold easily without any borders, and the oil money should be deposited in foreign currency in Iran’s bank accounts and we should use all the economic benefits in different sectors.”

The opening meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) joint commission will begin on Monday with the presence of senior diplomats of Iran and the P4+1 group, including Britain, China, France, Russia plus Germany, as well as the European Union representative.

The seventh rounds of nuclear talks, which began on November 29 in Vienna after a nearly six months of hiatus, has been the scene of intense discussions on two proposals from Iran. – IANS