In a possible sign that nuclear talks between global powers and Iran in Vienna have reached an impasse, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told Israel Hayom on Tuesday that negotiations with the Islamic republic were at a difficult stage, not in the least due to Iran's upcoming presidential election June 18.
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Cassis spoke to Israel Hayom after meeting with Swiss President Guy Parmelin and US President Joe Biden in Geneva.
Asked to describe the current stage of talks with Iran, Cassis said: "We've spoken with the Americans a great deal about Iran. The situation right now is difficult. In a few days, there will be presidential elections [in Iran].
"The expectations [of success] from the talks aren't very high. With that, the American administration intends to move forward and to find a hard path to an agreement," emphasized Cassis, whose country is representing the US in the negotiations.
On the eve of Biden's first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Parmelin expressed hope that the two leaders would use the opportunity to inject optimism and positivity into the international political arena in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The Swill president also expressed his country's willingness to facilitate a rapprochement between the US and Iran.
It's not clear what will happen Wednesday in Geneva when Biden meets Putin for the first time since taking office. Both sides acknowledge that the relationship between the two nations is dismal and neither holds out much hope for meaningful areas of agreement.
"There's no guarantee you can change a person's behavior or the behavior of his country. Autocrats have enormous power and they don't have to answer to a public," said Biden during a news conference Sunday after the Group of Seven summit in England. "And the fact is that it may very well be, if I respond in kind – which I will – that it doesn't dissuade him and he wants to keep going."
Biden had not minced words when it comes to assessing Putin. He said in an interview earlier this year that he agreed with an assessment that Putin was a "killer," and he once declared that Putin didn't have a soul.
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