Today’s P5+1 talks with Iran in Almaty, Kazakhstan ended without progress, as Western diplomats expressed frustration not just over Iranian intransigence but over what appears to be a kind of unseriousness regarding the details of the P5+1’s offer.
A Western diplomat described to The Tower gaps not just in agreeing to terms, but to what the terms being negotiated even are.
“There were some interesting but not fully explained general comments on our ideas,” said the diplomat, emphasizing that “we are somewhat puzzled by the Iranians’ characterisation of what they presented at this morning’s plenary.”
“There has not yet been a clear and concrete response to the E3+3’s Almaty I proposal,” the diplomat added, describing Iran’s comments as “mainly a reworking of what they said in Moscow.”
The expressions of frustration echo those made by diplomats in the aftermath of February talks — also in Almaty — which saw the West offer concessions that the Iranians didn’t quite seem to understand, and in any case weren’t empowered to negotiate over:
It was unclear whether any of these new positions would pave the way for any kind of agreement. Iran’s negotiators must now take the new proposal back to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at a time of intense maneuvering and infighting in Iran. The two sides agreed that technical experts would meet to discuss the proposal on March 18 and 19 in Istanbul, while the negotiations at this higher political level would resume, again in Almaty, on April 5 and 6…
A senior European diplomat was even more skeptical, saying that the technical meeting was essentially to explain the proposal to the Iranians once again, and that Iran might very well come back in April with an unacceptable counterproposal that swallows the “carrots” of the six and demands more.
Speaking about the current round of talks, the western diplomat noted that “we have insisted on a second plenary this afternoon… so that they can respond in the kind of detail that will enable us to make progress… We had a long and substantial discussion on the issues, but we remain a long way apart on the substance.”
The parties will meet again tomorrow.
[Photo: sasamforme / YouTube]