Iranian SNSC secretary, EU foreign policy chief describe talks as ‘constructive’

TEHRAN,Sept.22(MNA)– The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton described the talks they held in Istanbul on Tuesday as “constructive”. Ashton represents the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) in nuclear negotiations with Iran, and Jalili is Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator. The latest round of high-level talks between Iran and the six major powers was held in Moscow on June 18 and 19. According to BBC, Ashton’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that the meeting had been “a useful and constructive meeting and an important opportunity to stress once again to Iran the urgent need to make progress.” Ashton “is planning to meet the foreign ministers of the EU 3+3 in the margins of the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) ministerial week in New York in order to assess the situation and to discuss the way forward,” the statement read, according to Reuters. The 67th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly opened at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday and closes on September 30. According to Reuters, Ashton is scheduled to leave for New York on Sunday and will likely stay until the following Friday. During a press conference in Istanbul on Tuesday, Jalili described the meeting as “constructive”. “We discussed common points found by the experts and technical teams… so that they may be brought closer together and that a framework for future talks can be drawn,” Jalili said, according to BBC. He added, “We hope (our) talks can help bring the common points closer together.” “The result was that the six countries should evaluate the outcome of our meeting among each other… We are waiting so that after (Ashton) discusses with the six countries, we will contact each other again,” Jalili said, Reuters reported.