Exclusive - Vienna talks in final stage: Russian envoy

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Russian envoy to the Vienna talks about the Iran nuclear deal, Mikhail Ulyanov, told Al Mayadeen on Sunday that he was "optimistic" about the course the nuclear talks are taking.

Ulyanov revealed that the parties to the agreement were now in the final stage of negotiations. "I don't think that the talks can be prolonged for a long time. It's the time for decision-making in our capitals."

The top Russian diplomat told Al Mayadeen that some progress has been made over the past few days, underlining that in the upcoming few days "we will have a better understanding of where we are and what we should expect to happen."

There are various issues that must be solved, he said. "Each of these issues, or each of these items, have sub-items, which also need to be settled in order to get the necessary result."

He also assured that everything was "manageable, and Russia fully supports the need to close these issues as soon as possible."

"The further consideration seems to be counterproductive. We need to settle these problems through cooperation between the agency and the Iranian side," he underlined.

"Here, in the Vienna talks, we consider a general approach, and further developments will depend on cooperation between the agency and Tehran," he said when asked about the time it would take for the issues Iran has with the other parties to the nuclear negotiations.

Ulyanov also stressed that Moscow agrees with all of Tehran's major demands. "We try to promote the Iranian approach in our contacts with all the participants in the talks, because we do believe that the expectations of the Iranian delegation are quite legitimate, relevant, and can be taken into account, maybe with some modifications."

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The United States and Iran resumed indirect talks regarding the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal in Vienna on Thursday. 

US officials are concerned that the nuclear deal is on the verge of becoming obsolete, as Iran has taken efforts to advance its nuclear program following the adoption of a politically-motivated anti-Iran resolution by the UN.

The Russian and Iranian delegations to the Vienna talks met for the second time on Friday to discuss the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The team of Iranian negotiators, led by Ali Bagheri Kani, landed in the Austrian capital on Wednesday to continue negotiating with the other parties to the JCPOA to revive the agreement and remove the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.

The new round of talks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said, will focus on the ideas proposed by the involved parties, including ideas Tehran proposed this week.

Major powers and Iran are holding talks in Vienna with the aim of reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement and returning the United States to it following Washington's unilateral withdrawal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, who accompanied his decision with the imposition of harsh sanctions on Tehran.

In response, Iran gradually withdrew from its commitments under the JCPOA, seeing that the agreement was no longer binding.