All delegations to Iran nuke program talks arrive in Almaty
ALMATY. Feb 26 (Interfax) - All delegations planning to attend the upcoming round of talks between the P5+1 group (the UN Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany) and Iranian officials have already arrived in the Kazakh city of Almaty.
"All delegations taking part in this round of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program have arrived in Almaty," the Kazakh president's Central Communications Service said on its Twitter page.
The next round of full-fledged negotiations between the P5+1 group and Iranian representatives is due to take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday after an eight-month break.
The last full-fledged round of the negotiations was held in Moscow in June 2012 and continued for two days.
Russia's delegation to the talks is led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, and Iran's delegation is headed by Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili. EU Foreign Policy Chief Baroness Catherine Ashton acts as the P5+1 group's coordinator.
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, the French Foreign Ministry's Director General of Political Affairs and Security Jacques Audibert, UK Foreign Office Political Director Simon Gass, and German Foreign Ministry Special Envoy Hans-Dieter Lucas lead their countries' delegations to the talks.
The Almaty round could continue for more than one day. Diplomatic sources in the countries of the P5+1 group earlier reaffirmed the sides' readiness to hold the negotiations for as long as necessary.