Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday lifting an arms embargo against Iran should be a priority after a permanent deal on Tehran's nuclear program is reached. "We are calling for lifting the embargo as soon as possible and we will support the choices that Iran's negotiators make," Lavrov said on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in the Russian city of Ufa. Russia is among the six world powers negotiating with Iran a permanent nuclear deal for Tehran, but talks have been complicated and deadline for the agreement postponed. "We are close to a comprehensive agreement," Lavrov told Journalists. "It is within reach." Earlier today, Russia's Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists nuclear talks between Iran and the world's six major powers have entered their most difficult phase. "These talks are like alpinists claiming a peak: 95 percent of the way has been completed, but there are still several steps, the last few meters (which are) the most difficult," Ryabkov said. Iran has offered some new solutions to resolve the disputes in the nuclear talks on Wednesday, but Western officials suggested they had heard nothing new from Tehran.
