“Iran has never conducted nuclear activities beyond the limits stipulated by the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty), and this fact should be considered as the basis for the [next round of] negotiations between the country and the P5+1 group,” said Alexander Polischuk, the chairman of the Iran-Russia friendship group, in an interview with IRNA on Thursday.
Iran and the P5+1– Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany — held three sessions of plenary talks in Baghdad on May 23 and 24 after an earlier round of negotiations in Istanbul in mid-April.
The two sides agreed to hold another round of talks in Moscow on June 18-19.
The Russian official also noted that the Islamic Republic has made “significant progress” in the area of nuclear technology over the past years and thus the P5+1 group should offer it a package “proportionate to its current capabilities.”
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that the P5+1 must recognize Tehran’s nuclear energy program in the forthcoming talks as the country will not budge from its position.
Iran argues that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a committed signatory to the NPT, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
MAB/MN/HN