Iran, EU Diplomats Hold Talks to Coordinate Sessions in Vienna Talks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian negotiators and European Union's representative held a bilateral meeting in Vienna to coordinate the upcoming sessions in the fresh round of talks between Tehran and world powers over the country’s nuclear energy program.
Seyed Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi, deputies to Iranian foreign minister, held their meeting with European Union’s Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Helga Maria Schmid.
The two sides held talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Friday to plan and coordinate the sessions to be held between negotiators from Iran and world powers.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) delegations are currently in the European capital ahead of the June 30 deadline for reaching a comprehensive agreement on Tehran's nuclear program.
Senior diplomats from China and Russia also joined the talks between Iran, the US, and the European Union (EU) on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, experts and diplomats from Iran and the six world powers including Araqchi, Takht Ravanchi, Schmid, and US Under-Secretary of State Wendy Sherman held two rounds of meeting.
The fresh round of diplomatic negotiations to draft the text of the comprehensive deal has started in Vienna since Wednesday and will continue steadily until the self-imposed deadline of June 30.
The foreign ministers of Iran and the sextet are expected to hold a meeting between June 25 and 30, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced on Friday.
Tehran and the six world powers are negotiating to hammer out a lasting accord that would end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran's civilian nuclear program.
On April 2, the two sides reached a framework nuclear agreement in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), until the end of June.
