Iranian negotiator describes Geneva meetings with US as 'much useful'

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi said the recent meetings between Iranian and US negotiators in Geneva were "much useful" and were aimed at making preparations for the multilateral talks between Tehran and the six world powers in New York on September 18.
"These meetings were aimed at making preparations for (the upcoming) New York meeting," Takht Ravanchi, also a senior negotiator in Iran's nuclear talks with the world powers, told FNA on Sunday.
He assessed the three-day-long talks in Geneva as "much useful", saying the meetings were good because "we could go into more detailed issues".
"We expressed our different stances in these sessions and discussed with the other side the subjects that were negotiable," he said, adding that the two sides laid emphasis on issues that had been discussed in their previous meetings.
Another Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and senior negotiator, Seyed Abbas Araqchi, had also earlier described the bilateral talks with the US over a final nuclear deal in Geneva as "useful".
"The negotiations which will continue tomorrow (Saturday) have been useful so far and we hope that they can help resolve the differences," Araqchi said on Friday.
Noting that the two sides still have some differences, he said, "God willing, we will make progress by September 18, when the next round of the negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) will be held in New York."
Araqchi and Takht Ravanchi held bilateral talks with their US counterparts Wendy Sherman and William Burns in the Swiss capital from Thursday to Saturday.
The negotiations between Araqchi, Takht Ravanchi, Sherman and Burns took place within the framework of the talks between Tehran and the Group 5+1.
No details have yet been released on the exact contents of the talks.
On September 1, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met in Brussels, Belgium, and discussed the process of the ongoing nuclear talks for more than three hours.
After his negotiations with Ashton, the Iranian foreign minister said he was optimistic that issues related to the Iranian nuclear technology could be resolved within the time framework of the November 24 deadline.
Iran and the six world powers have been in talks over a final and permanent solution to their nuclear standoff ever since they signed an interim deal in Geneva in November.
On July 20, the deadline for reaching a final agreement on Iran's future nuclear activities was postponed by four months—until November 24—to give more time for diplomatic efforts.
Zarif and Ashton in a joint statement after over two weeks of talks in July stressed the need for more efforts and time to reach an agreement with the world powers over Tehran's nuclear program.
The two officials who presided the negotiating sides, emphasized at the end of Iran-G5+1 negotiations that they have held different sessions in different forms and in a constructive atmosphere to reach a final comprehensive agreement.
Due to certain differences over some fundamental issues the two sides agreed to extend the Joint Plan of Action by November 24, they added.