London: Nuclear talks between Iran and world powers have resulted in a "broad framework of understanding" but there remains "quite a lot of work to do," Britain`s foreign minister said Wednesday,as talks pushed beyond a March 31 deadline.
"I think we have a broad framework of understanding but there are still some key issues that have to be worked through," Philip Hammond told British media in Switzerland.
"Some of them are quite detailed and technical so there is still quite a lot of work to do but we are on it now and we`ll keep going at it," he said after Iran and six major powers on Tuesday missed a midnight deadline to agree the outlines of a potentially historic deal.
Foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State John Kerry, continued the talks into the early hours of the morning and the negotiations were due to resume on Wednesday, although France, Russia and China`s foreign ministers have left and were represented by deputies.
"We have made significant progress over the last few days but it has been slow going... We wanted people to be fresh as we tackle the last few issues that remain. We are now working on them this morning," Hammond said.
"I`m optimistic that we will make further progress this morning but it does mean the Iranians being willing to meet us where there are still issues to deal with," he said, adding: "Fingers crossed and we`ll hope to get there during the course of the day."
