Europeans’ meeting with top Iranian diplomat yields hope of more talks but no breakthrough
Western and Iranian officials held their first face-to-face meeting since the start of the conflict centred on Tehran’s nuclear programme
A meeting between Iran’s foreign minister and top European diplomats on Friday yielded hopes of further talks but no indication of any immediate concrete breakthrough, a week after the crisis centred on the Iranian nuclear programme erupted into war between Israel and Tehran.
Foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany, as well as the European Union’s foreign policy chief, emerged from talks at a Geneva hotel about 3½ hours after Iran’s Abbas Araghchi arrived for the meeting.
It was the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict.
In a joint written statement issued after the talks ended, the three European nations and the EU said that they “discussed avenues towards a negotiated solution to Iran’s nuclear programme”. They reiterated their concerns about the “expansion” of the nuclear programme, adding that it had “no credible civilian purpose”.
“The good result today is that we leave the room with the impression that the Iranian side is fundamentally ready to continue talking about all important issues,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, adding both sides had held “very serious talks”.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “We are keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States.” He added that “we were clear: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon”.