DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry rebuffed statements made by Israel prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu that a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme would jeopardise Israel security interests.

Kerry, in a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu, said nuclear negotiations in Geneva between world powers and Iran would in turn reduce the risk faced by Israel, reports The Jerusalem Post.

‘I have great respect for (Netanyahu’s) concerns about his country,’ Kerry said, adding that ‘I can assure those friends and everybody else watching this that nothing that we are doing here, in my judgment, will put Israel at any additional risk’.

According to Kerry, negotiators in Geneva were seeking a first-step agreement that would urge Iran to prove its disputed nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.

The next round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions was slated to continue on Wednesday.

BDST: 1435 HRS, NOV 19, 2013
RoR/BSK