Iran, six world powers conclude latest round of nuclear talks

UNITED NATIONS (Xinhua) - Iran, the six countries wrapped up the seventh round of nuclear talks in New York Friday.

"All parties agree to hold the next round of talks as soon as possible," said Wang Min, chief negotiator of the Chinese delegation.

According to Wang, during the talks all parties demonstrated the political will to reach a comprehensive agreement at an earlier date and carried out negotiations over the core issues including uranium enrichment, in a "flexible, concrete and constructive" manner and via exploring ways to accommodate each other's concerns.

This round of negotiation between Iran and the six world powers- - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany started a week ago. Among the attendees were EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif, plus delegates from the six major powers.

Wang believed the talks for achieving a comprehensive agreement have reached the final crucial stage and hoped all parties can focus on the core issues and creatively seek a solution of mutual benefit and win-win nature. He also pledged that China stands ready to work with all parties concerned and continue its efforts to work for a fair, balanced, mutually beneficial and win-win comprehensive agreement.

An interim deal, which took effect on Jan. 20, was designed to buy time for negotiations. Under the deal, Iran would suspend some sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for a limited sanction relief.  

In July, Iran and the six major countries agreed to extend negotiations over its disputed nuclear program for another four months till Nov. 24 as they could not narrow down the significant gaps on core issues during the past six months.

The six world powers are working with Iran to find a comprehensive deal to put an end to Tehran's long-term controversial nuclear program. The West wants Iran to significantly scale back its nuclear program to address the concern of proliferation risk, while Iran insists its nuclear right is inalienable.