Ashton Hopes for Significant Progress in Talks with Iran

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed the hope that the talks between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) will yield significant results and progress.

The telephone conversation took place when the Iranian foreign minister was on an official visit to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday night.

Prior to his departure for Tehran, Zarif told reporters that Ms. Ashton made the call to confirm that the G5+1 was serious about fulfilling its commitments.

She also expressed the hope that the nuclear talks would witness a significant progress, Zarif said.

On November 24, Iran and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members sealed a six-month accord to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program.

In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet of world powers agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran and continue talks with the country to settle all problems between the two sides.