article_snippet.sent: The whole point of what's happening in Lausanne, SwitzerlandSwitzerland, is to get everyone on the same page about what kinds of things will be discussed as part of a potential conclusive agreement.
article_snippet.sent: For those hoping that will eventually happen, it's good that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and senior European Union diplomat Helga Schmid held talks early Thursday morning in Lausanne.
article_snippet.sent: There's one thing that most everyone does agree on: Kerry and Zarif have made progress in recent days.
article_snippet.sent: In fact, Zarif called it "very good" progress that led to solutions on most issues, according to IRNA, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
article_snippet.sent: Lavrov went so far as to say "with a large degree of confidence" that "framework agreements have been reached on all the key aspects of this issue at the ministerial level."
article_snippet.sent: "We hope that these agreements will be put on paper in the next few hours or a day at the most," Lavrov said before leaving the talks along with Lavrov counterparts from China and France.
article_snippet.sent: According to an IRNA report, Zarif said only that Zarif hopes a framework agreement will be drafted Wednesday.
article_snippet.sent: I think it's a matter of political will.
article_snippet.sent: It's not just about technical details anymore," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East studies at the London School of Economics.
article_snippet.sent: Even then, Gerges on Wednesday gave the sides a 60% to 70% chance of coming to some sort of preliminary agreement soon.
article_snippet.sent: Gerges reasoning: "I think there is a convergence of interests between Obama's administration and the Iranian leadership, and that's why both camps have a vested interest in signing an agreement, as opposed to walking away.
article_snippet.sent: Still, it's too early to say that everyone will meet in the middle on everything.