EU's Ashton offers to meet Iran on Dec. 5 - source

BRUSSELS | Fri Nov 12, 2010 6:19am EST

BRUSSELS Nov 12 (Reuters) - European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton will propose to meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator early next month to discuss Tehran's nuclear programme, an EU diplomat said on Friday.

Following consultations with the six world powers involved in negotiating with Iran -- the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany -- the diplomat said Ashton would write to Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili proposing a meeting on Dec. 5, probably in Switzerland.

Jalili wrote to Ashton this week offering a meeting on either Nov. 23 or Dec. 5 in Istanbul.

"Catherine Ashton is expected to respond to Iran by the end of the day and is expected to agree to Iran's proposal to meet on Dec. 5, but not in Istanbul," the diplomat told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The meeting would be somewhere in Europe, most probably in Switzerland. A second, subsequent meeting may also be proposed for Istanbul," he said.

If talks are agreed, they are expected to last three days.

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Comments (1)
Logical123 wrote:
What are they going to talk about? Iran’s nuclear program is none of the business of the EU? Lady Ashton hears but does not understand anything.

Nov 12, 2010 3:39pm EST  --  Report as abuse
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