Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will reportedly meet with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton ahead of a new round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group in Belgiums capital, Brussels, next week.
I can confirm that Lady Ashton will be meeting the Iranian foreign minister on Sept. 1 here in Brussels in the context of talks on Irans nuclear program, Ashtons spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said on Monday.
This is an important meeting in the context of getting ready for that next big round of talks, she said.
Earlier in July, Zarif and Ashton held several meetings during the latest nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 in the Austrian capital of Vienna to exchange views on the process of preparing the draft text of a comprehensive deal between Iran and the six countries.
Zarif also held a trilateral meeting with Ashton and US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns on the nuclear issue in Vienna.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - China, Russia, Britain, France, and the United States - plus Germany will resume their nuclear talks on the sidelines of the annual gathering of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.
The two sides are discussing ways of reaching a final agreement over Tehrans nuclear energy program.
They clinched a landmark interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23, 2013. The agreement, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later on July 20, has been extended until November 24.