French, Iranian top diplomats to meet in Paris January 16 - French diplomats

PARIS, January 15. /TASS/. Foreign Ministers of France and Iran, Laurent Fabius and Mohammad Javad Zarif, will hold talks in Paris on January 16, French diplomatic sources said on Wednesday, January 14. On the same day US Secretary of State John Kerry will be in the French capital. He will hold talks with French President Francois Hollande. French diplomatic sources could not confirm a possibility of tripartite talks between Kerry, Fabius and the Iranian foreign minister. Last week, the European External Action Service said in a report that the P5+1 group and Iran will continue talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme in Geneva on January 18 at the level of political directorsThe parties would continue talks in Geneva on January 18 to achieve progress towards finding a long-term comprehensive solution to the nuclear problem. The European Union will be represented by Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Helga Schmid. An Iranian diplomat told TASS on January 6 that a decision had been taken to hold the regular meeting between Iran and the P5+1 group on January 18. “All parties agree with such schedule. That is why a decision was taken to meet in Geneva on January 18,” the diplomat said. Before the meeting Iran is planning to have bilateral meetings with Russian and US negotiators, he said. Russia will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. The Iranian diplomat did not rule out that bilateral meetings would be held on January 17. The P5+1 is a group of countries which in 2006 joined the diplomatic efforts with Iran in regard to its nuclear programme. The term refers to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, namely the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Read more