UN regrets failure to reach agreement with Iran

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon talks to journalists during a news conference after the opening of the Rio+20 United Nations sustainable development summit in Rio de Janeiro June 20, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a statement here on Wednesday on the conclusion of the talks between the E3+3 countries (United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany) and Iran.

"The Secretary-General regrets that the E3+3 and the Islamic Republic of Iran were unable to reach an agreement on concrete and reciprocal measures at their meeting in Moscow," said the statement.

The latest round of talks between Iran and the E3+3 ended without an agreement in Moscow late Tuesday, but all parties agreed to meet again in Istanbul in July at the expert level.

According to the UN chief's statement, his hopes are that all parties "strengthen their resolve to quickly achieve a negotiated solution that restores international confidence in an Iranian nuclear program that could be deemed exclusively peaceful."

Furthermore, the UN chief "appeals to the parties to resume their diplomatic engagement with renewed intensity, and the outmost flexibility," the statement said.