LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program entered a critical phase on Monday with differences still remaining and the atmosphere here has changed from "optimism" to some kind of "gloom" among negotiators.
As foreign ministers from all the P5+1 countries, namely the United States, Britain, France, Russiaand China plus Germany, and the EU top envoy all gathering in Lausanne when the March 31 deadline for a framework agreement or understanding approaches, there were signs that a possible framework agreement might be within reach.
However, a diplomatic source told Xinhua on Monday that there are still many uncertainties in announcing any achievements.
"It seems that they might be too much optimism at the beginning," the source said.
According to the source who don't want to be named, the possibility for the sides to reach a common understanding on Monday is very little, if still exist.
If after the final efforts the foreign ministers could announce something, the source said, it may be in a form of an agreement, but looks more likely to be a "declaration," "statement" or just a "press briefing statement."
The source told Xinhua that the three major issues blocking the nuclear talks still remained disputed.
"How to define Iran's right for uranium enrichment, how long should the final and comprehensive Iran nuclear deal last, and the arrangement for the lifting of the sanctions as well as the mechanism for replacing sanctions back into place, these three issues still need to be agreed on," the source said.
In an another move, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has decided to leave the Iranian nuclear talks Monday afternoon to return to Moscow, a sign also suggesting that a framework common ground for the final nuclear agreement isn't imminent.
Lavrov arrived in Lausanne Sunday evening. According to a source involved in the on-going talks, Lavrov may not be present at the plenary session planned for Monday afternoon.
