In an interview Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the deadline for Iranian nuclear talks was unlikely to be extended.
“If we’re not able to make the fundamental decisions that have to be made over the course of the next weeks, literally, I think it would be impossible to extend,” Kerry said. “I don’t think we would want to extend at that point. Either you make the decisions to prove your program is a peaceful one, or if you’re unable to do that, it may tell a story that none of us want to hear.”
According to the Associated Press, the negotiations group known as the P5+1 – comprised of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China and facilitated by the European Union – has missed two previous deadlines in their efforts to halt the development of an Iranian nuclear program.
The deadline for the framework of a nuclear deal is March 31, while the deadline for a comprehensive agreement is June 30.
According to NBC, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also dismissed extending the deadline.
During the interview, Kerry also said that “we are on the road to” the United States’ goal of degrading and destroying ISIS.
Kerry said that “22 percent of the populated areas that [ISIS] held have been taken back already” without the United States launching a “major offensive.”
Asked about another foreign policy challenge — the armed conflict in Ukraine — Kerry said there was “no doubt” Ukraine would get more help in its fight against pro-Russian separatists.
“I have no doubt that additional assistance of economic kind and other kinds will be going to Ukraine,” Kerry said. He declined to say what specific types of assistance would be given.
Kerry said there is “no military solution” to the crisis in Ukraine, but rather “the solution is a political, diplomatic one.”
“And we have to make it clear to [Russian President Vladimir Putin] that we are absolutely committed to the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine no matter what,” said Kerry.
The interview was taped on Saturday, while Kerry attended a security conference in Munich.
