Zarif, Ashton to Meet in Early September
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Catherin Ashton, who represents six world powers in the talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, are scheduled to meet in early September, a senior member of Iran’s nuclear team said.
No exact time or venue have been set for the meeting yet, Deputy Minister for American and European Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi told reporters on Monday.
He also said expert-level talks will be held between the two sides.
Earlier on Monday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi had said that an upcoming plenary session of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany), slated for September in New York, will likely be held at the level of foreign ministers.
Araqchi, who is also a senior member of the country’s negotiating team, told reporters that the meeting of foreign ministers at the forthcoming session remains a possibility.
According to earlier reports, representatives from Iran and the Group 5+1 are expected to hold nuclear talks on the sidelines of the upcoming session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
The last round of talks between Iran and six word powers was held in the Austrian capital of Vienna from July 2 to July 20 with the aim drafting a comprehensive agreement to resolve the decade-long standoff on Tehran's peaceful nuclear program.
Failing to reach the comprehensive agreement until July 20, Iran and the Group 5+1 agreed to extend talks for another four months until November 24.
