IOC Aids Nuclear Talks in Lausanne

(ATR) Media will cover the Iran nuclear program talks from the Olympic Museum.

An IOC spokesperson confirmed to Around the Rings that the IOC agreed to let media use the facility after a request from the Swiss Government.

Talks on an Iranian nuclear deal include the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the European Union. The talks are being held at the Beau-Rivage Hotel in Lausanne. The Olympic Museum is next door to the hotel.

"In this Olympic Spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding, we wish you an enjoyable stay in our Olympic Museum and every success to all the participants in these meetings," Thomas Bach, IOC president, said.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian minister of foreign affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif resumed talks on Mar. 16. After opening the meeting Kerry and Zarif travelled to Brussels, Belgium, while talks continued in Lausanne.

If a deal is reached by the end of the week Kerry and Zarif will travel back to Lausanne and sign the agreement in the Olympic Museum.

"I'm very optimistic," Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian nuclear chief, told Al Jazeera, about the talks.

"If [Iran's nuclear programme is] peaceful, let's get it done. And my hope is that in the next days, that will be possible," John Kerry told American television nework CBS on Mar. 15.

If a deal is not reached at the end of this week, the Iranian New Year, Norouz, will delay talks even further. A report from Reuters said that talks could continue through the end of March due to the delay.

The last treaty signed in Lausanne was in 1923. The Treaty of Lausanne settled the borders of modern Turkey after World War I.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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