Thursday, April 19, 2012

Expert: Israel's pressure to have little impact on the "Iran-Six powers" negotiations (JMD in Trend)


Expert: Israel's pressure to have little impact on the "Iran-Six powers" negotiations

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 16 / Trend S.Isayev/

Israel clearly wants to maintain pressure on Iran as well as on the U.S., it's a position that makes perfect sense from Israel's point of view, Senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, James M. Dorsey told Trend, commenting on Israel's position regarding the recent "Iran-Six powers" talks in Istanbul.

Two rounds of talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries have been held in Istanbul this past weekend, and, according to official statements, the discussions were "constructive".

The Iranian side was represented by ran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary,chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, while Union foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton handled the matters for the Six European powers (four permanent U.N. Security Council members Britain, France, China and Russia, plus Germany).

"Israel's position will have little impact on the negotiation process," Dorsey added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers, saying that the Islamic republic has been given five weeks to continue enriching uranium until the next round of talks.

Speaking about the next scheduled meeting of "Iran-Six powers" negotiations that should take place in Baghdad on May 23, Dorsey said it is too early to predict anything.

"Important is the fact that all sides feel that there was a willingness to negotiate and therefore a basis to meet again on May 23," Dorsey said.

"In the run-up to the Baghdad meeting Iran and its interlocutors will be seeking to agree on a specific agenda. Whether they succeed will be a first indication of what the chances are of achieving a negotiated settlement," he added. "As always, the devil is in the details".

The United States and its European allies suspect Iran of covertly developing atomic weapons, accusations Tehran denies. The Islamic state says it has a sovereign right to nuclear activities, which it says are entirely civilian.

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