The White House announced that Obama and Merkel discussed over the telephone the ongoing negotiations with Iran concerning its nuclear program, and reaffirmed their readiness to reach a long-term deal.


WASHINGTON (Sputnik)�� US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed over�the telephone the ongoing negotiations with�Iran concerning its nuclear program, and reaffirmed their readiness to�reach a long-term deal, the White House announced in�a statement on�Friday.

�They reaffirmed their commitment to�achieving a long-term comprehensive deal that fully and verifiably ensures that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful going forward, while noting that Iran must make the decisions necessary to�resolve several remaining issues,� the statement said.

The new round�of talks between�Iran and the P5+1 group of�countries on�Iran�s nuclear program began Thursday in�Lausanne, Switzerland, and will continue until�March 29.Western nations have long accused Iran of�disguising the development of�nuclear weapons as�a civilian nuclear program that is allegedly aimed at�meeting the country's growing energy needs.

Iran and the P5+1 countries, comprising Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom and France plus Germany, have been conducting negotiations on�Iran�s nuclear program since�November 2013.

The negotiating parties are expected to�work out�a political framework agreement by�the end of�March. A comprehensive deal ensuring the peaceful nature of�Tehran's nuclear activities is set to�be reached by�July 2015.


By Sputnik News