By France 24

AFP - EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday held her first face-to-face meeting since June with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, in a bid to get international talks over Tehran's disputed atomic programme restarted.

No statements were made to the press at the beginning of the meeting which was held behind closed doors at the Iranian consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

During the previous session of negotiations between Iran and world powers in June, the parties failed to make headway at breaking a deadlock in the crisis over Tehran's nuclear drive.

The so-called P5+1 contact group made up of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany has asked Iran to immediately stop enriching uranium because of fears Tehran might be developing nuclear weapons.

But Iran rejects the allegations, saying its nuclear programme is peaceful, designed for energy and development purposes only.

Meanwhile, Jalili met on Monday with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to discuss the resumption of international talks over Tehran's atomic programme, a diplomatic source said.

 

The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.