“In our view, although it was very tough, it was quite, quite promising,” Lukashevich said at a weekly press briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
He also stated that Iran’s new proposal could produce progress toward ending the standoff between the West and the Islamic Republic over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
“Iran’s new proposals could move the negotiating process forward, and are evidence of the Iranian side’s intention to resolve the issue that are of concern to the six powers,” the senior Russian official pointed out.
Iran and the six powers wrapped up two days of talks over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday. The two sides have agreed to meet again in the Swiss city on November 7-8.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif presented Iran’s proposal titled “Closing an Unnecessary Crisis, Opening a New Horizon” to the six countries during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
Following the talks, Zarif said in a press conference that the negotiations “will hopefully be the beginning of a new phase” in the country’s relations with the six powers.
EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, hailed the nuclear talks as the “most detailed” and most “substantive” ever held between the two sides.
She added that the six world powers are carefully considering a proposal offered by Iran during the talks, but noted that both sides have agreed not to disclose the details of Tehran’s proposal, which she described as an “important contribution.”