Rouhani Warns West against Excessive Nuclear Demands

Local Editor

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned world powers that they should not make "excessive demands".

He was quoted by an official website as telling Russian President Vladimir Putin that they could "complicate the process towards a win-win agreement".
The Kremlin said Putin had stressed there was a "real chance" of a deal.

"In the context of the Iranian nuclear program, Putin underlined that at the moment a real chance has appeared to find a solution to this long-running problem," the Kremlin said in statement.

The Kremlin said that the two presidents spoke by telephone at the Russian leader's request.
Representatives from Iran and the P5+1 group of nations will begin a new round of negotiations in Geneva on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said Iran been unable to accept a deal "at that particular moment", while Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed divisions between Western powers and appeared to single out France for "gutting over half" of a US draft deal.

On Monday, Rouhani was quoted by the dolat.ir website as telling his Russian counterpart: "At the recent Geneva talks good progress was made, but everyone must realize excessive demands could complicate the process towards a win-win agreement.
"From our point of view, there should not be a situation in which the will of parties to reach mutually acceptable agreement is affected."
Their telephone conversation came a day after French President Francois Hollande outlined the "essential" components of any deal.

Iran reiterated that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, especially that it is committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team