MOSCOW, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Iran shouldn't be singled out for the failure to emerge from last week's nuclear talks in Geneva with a deal, a Russian government official said Tuesday.
Russia is a member of the U.N. Security Council. It joined its U.N. counterparts, Germany and Iran for two days of talks in Geneva with Iran last week.
A Russian Foreign Ministry source told state news agency RIA Novosti unity among negotiating partners fractured during the Geneva talks.
"The draft of the joint document readied by the Americans was agreeable to the Iranians, but as decisions at the negotiations in this format are adopted by consensus, it was unfortunately not possible to come to a final agreement," the source said on condition of anonymity. "This was not the fault of the Iranians."
Iran has said it was ready to allay international concerns over its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions. Washington is mulling its next steps on sanctions. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry heads Wednesday to the Senate Banking Committee to discuss international talks with Iran.
Kerry, who attended the Geneva talks, said in a Monday interview with the BBC the negotiating partners were "very, very close" to reaching a deal. There were divisions, he said, but "none so terribly that I don't think it's possible to reach be able to reach agreement."
