Zarif, Ashton Start Consultations with Own Teams after Bilateral Meeting
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton started consulting with their negotiating teams in Vienna after the two top negotiators ended their bilateral meeting earlier on Wednesday.
Zarif is conferring with Iranian team of negotiators while Ashton is meeting with representatives of the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, France, Britain and China plus Germany).
The consultations began after Zarif and Ashton ended their bilateral meeting.
They held talks after the Iranian side, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi and the G5+1, represented by European Union Deputy Foreign Policy Chief Helga Maria Schmid on behalf of the other side, held the third round of talks for two hours earlier today to discuss the priorities for the future negotiations and work out a framework for an ultimate and comprehensive agreement on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
It is the first round of high-level negotiations since a November interim deal, clinched between Iran and the G5+1.
On November 24, 2013, the two sides signed an interim six-month deal on Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The breakthrough deal (the Joint Plan of Action), which has come into effect since January 20, stipulates that over the course of six months, Iran and the six countries will draw up a comprehensive nuclear deal which will lead to a lifting of the whole sanctions on Iran.
