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Russia: Iran Nuclear Talks Entering Most Difficult Phase

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (C), Head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi and Hossein Fereydoon (R), brother and close aide to President Hassan Rouhani in Vienna, Austria July 3, 2015.

UFA, Russia — Nuclear talks between Iran and the world's six major powers have entered their most difficult phase, but all involved parties are working on new proposals submitted by Tehran, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday.

"These talks are like alpinists claiming a peak: 95 percent of the way has been completed, but there are still several steps, the last few metres [which are] the most difficult," Ryabkov told journalists on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Ufa.

Iran has offered some new solutions to resolve the disputes in the nuclear talks on Wednesday, but Western officials suggested they had heard nothing new from Tehran.

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