Geneva talks 'test of G5+1's good will'

A senior Iranian legislator said the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, France and Britain plus Germany) should display the truthfulness of its good will towards Tehran in the upcoming talks in Geneva. "The new round of Geneva negotiations is a test of honesty and good will for the G5+1 and they should display it in practice during the negotiations," member of the parliament's Judicial and Legal Commission Mohammad Ali Esfanani told FNA on Tuesday. He also recommended that the Iranian team of negotiators stand firm against the westerners' illogical demands and not retreat even a span from the positions or an iota of the rights of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation. Esfanani said that diplomatic experiences have proved to Iran that whenever it withdraws one step, the country is forced to take other steps backward too, meaning that Tehran is necessitated to stand firm and insist on its rights. The Iranian delegation left Tehran for Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday to meet their counterparts from the Group 5+1 states to discuss Iran's nuclear issue and the western sanctions in a high-profile meeting in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday. Iran and the world powers held a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York in September and decided to meet again in Geneva on October 15-16. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who heads the Iranian delegation announced last week that he and his negotiating team are going to offer a new set of proposals during the Geneva talks. “I will put forward a new plan to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear activities during the next round of talks with the Group 5+1,” he said, without elaborating on the contents of the new plan.