US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva Sunday for fresh talks with his Iranian counterpart on Tehran's nuclear programme, after warning "significant gaps" remain ahead of a key deadline. World powers are trying to strike a deal with Iran that would prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb in return for an easing of punishing international economic sanctions.
Iran denies its nuclear programme has military objectives. Kerry had been set to arrive in the Swiss city Sunday morning for two days of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, but was delayed in London.
He finally arrived around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT), and took a quick stroll in the blistering cold along the shores of Lake Geneva before sitting down for a briefing with the US negotiating team. He was scheduled to meet Zarif Sunday evening.
US and Iranian diplomats have been meeting in Geneva since Friday, and senior negotiators from the so-called P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany were also expected to meet on Sunday to help drive the talks forward. There is a heightened sense of urgency as the clock ticks down towards a March 31 deadline to agree on a political framework for the deal. Kerry warned in London Saturday that "there are still significant gaps, there is still a distance to travel."
But, he added: "President (Barack) Obama has no inclination whatsoever to extend these talks beyond the period that has been set out." Akbar Velayati, the diplomatic adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shot back Sunday that "if American leaders don't want to negotiate, it's up to them, but they were the ones who were after negotiations."
Wang Qun, director general of the arms control and disarmament department of the Chinese foreign ministry, acknowledged that the talks faced "difficulties".
"We anticipate more difficulties as we move to the final phase," he told reporters in Geneva, while adding "our resolve is greater than the difficulties."