BRUSSELS — EU diplomacy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday agreed to resume long-stalled nuclear talks between world powers and Iran on December 5, and suggested they be held in Austria or Switzerland.Ashton’s office said she “has agreed to
Iran this week proposed the talks take place in Istanbul but “Ashton’s preference is that the first meeting take place somewhere else in Europe and has proposed Austria or Switzerland.”
US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley took a similar position Friday.
“Istanbul could still be a location for a second follow-on meeting,” he told reporters. “But the general consensus is that the first meeting should be somewhere in central Europe.”
In a letter seen by AFP sent to the Iranian side by Ashton’s office, the EU diplomat proposes the talks kick off with a dinner December 5 and continue through to midday December 7 to have “sufficient time for a full and in depth exchange of views”.
| Hmmm, dinner, and 'working' lunches the next two days. Whose dime? |