German, Iran envoys to meet for nuke talks

DHAKA: Iran and six world powers met in Istanbul on July 3 for technical talks on Tehran’s contentious nuclear program and are now set to continue with a meeting between envoys from the Islamic republic and Germany.

The meeting between Iran and the ‘P5+1’ – Britain, China, France, Russia, United States, plus Germany – which was conducted at the level of technical experts, was held in Istanbul and lasted for a full day until 1 am on July 3, a spokesperson for EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said.

‘The E3+3 (P5+1) provided further detail of the E3+3 proposal given to Iran in Baghdad; Iran shared further detail of their proposal, and the experts explored positions on a number of technical subjects’, Ashton said in her statement following the meeting, reports daily Hurriyet.

The negotiations will now continue with a meeting between Helga Schmid, a deputy to Ashton, and Iranian diplomat Ali Bagheri in the upcoming days.

‘As agreed when High Representative and Vice-President Ashton and the E3+3 political directors met with (chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed) Jalili in Moscow, the technical meeting in Istanbul will be followed by a meeting between Helga Schmid and Dr Ali Bagheri’, Ashton’s statement said.

The negotiations between Iran and world powers seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis over Tehran’s nuclear program failed to produce a solution in the last meeting held in Moscow on June 19.

BDST: 1837 HRS, JUL 5, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor