Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian stressed his country's adherence to his country's red lines in the Vienna talks, while European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed optimism about reaching a nuclear agreement.
During a telephone conversation with Borrell, Abdullahian accused some Western parties of not showing enough seriousness during the talks to reach a good agreement, which would prolong the negotiations, as he put it.
"We do not, in any way, retreat from our red lines, which depend on logic and realism," Abdullahian added.
Abdullahian accuses some western parties of not showing enough seriousness (Anadolu Agency)
The Iranian Foreign Ministry quoted Borrell as saying that the talks had reached a sensitive stage, and that all parties should show flexibility.
Borrell said in a tweet on his Twitter account that he had another important call with the Iranian Foreign Minister, adding that, as coordinator of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, he strongly believed that an agreement was imminent.
In his tweet, the EU foreign policy chief considered that it was time to make the final effort and reach a compromise.
Another important call with Iranian Foreign Minister @Amirabdolahian.
As Coordinator of the #JCPOA, I strongly believe an agreement is in sight.
The moment has come to make an ultimate effort and reach a compromise.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) February 14, 2022
On the other hand, the Russian TASS news agency reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to his Iranian counterpart, where it was noted that progress has been made in the Iranian nuclear negotiations in Vienna.
In a weekly press conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the withdrawal of the US side from the nuclear agreement is evidence that the United States and its promises cannot be trusted.
Khatibzadeh added that talks on the prisoner exchange are continuing through indirect channels and through mediators, and that this issue has not been linked to the Vienna talks and their results.
"It seems that Washington has not yet made a decision in this regard, but we affirm that the solution to this humanitarian issue will appear if Washington changes its behavior and policies," he added.
Since last April, American and Iranian officials have been trying to negotiate a prisoner exchange through mediators in Vienna, but the two sides exchanged accusations of not being serious about this file.
And US media reports said earlier that Iran wanted to get money in exchange for the release of 4 American prisoners, whom Washington describes as hostages to Tehran, while the Iranians are trying to recover prisoners detained in the United States, for reasons including violating sanctions imposed on their country.