Kerry, Russian FM join Iran nuclear talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry and foreign ministers of other major powers were converging today to lend their weight to the Iran nuclear talks after envoys reported progress in marathon negotiations to curb the Iranian program in return for limited sanctions relief.
After a third day of talks, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said late yesterday that Kerry was heading to Geneva to "help narrow the differences" just hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived.
Kerry, who arrived today, said before leaving Washington that he had no particular expectation that an agreement could be reached this week. But after talking with top European Union diplomat Catherine Ashton yesterday, he decided to travel to Geneva to help negotiators narrow their differences.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was the first to arrive today, his plane landing before dawn as the talks neared a final, pivotal stage, telling reporters: "On the Iranian nuclear issue, I want a deal but a solid deal and I am here to work toward that end."
Fabius' brief comments conveyed a guarded tone compared to his public comments during the previous round of talks two weeks earlier that fanned talk of disunity among the world powers negotiating with Iran.
French diplomats believe the talks are in the final stretch, but the failure to strike a deal in the last round "taught us to be prudent," said a French official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be quoted publicly on the matter.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced he would also travel to Geneva. The announcements followed a day in which diplomats appeared more and more optimistic that a deal could be struck.
As talks adjourned, a diplomat said Iranian Foreign Minister and top European Union diplomat Catherine Ashton had made progress on a key sticking point Iran's claim to a right to produce nuclear fuel through uranium enrichment.