Spokeswoman: Iran To Hold High-level Talks During Shanghai Meet

Tehran, Sept 10, IRNA – Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said here on Tuesday that Iran is to hold high level meetings and talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting. Talking to reporters during her weekly press briefing, she said President Hassan Rohani is to travel to Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, on September 12 to take part in the SCO meeting. She pointed to the especial importance of the meeting for Iran as a regional body and said the government uses every chance to promote its general policy of regional cooperation. As to the situation of the kidnapped Iranian diplomat in Sana, Yemen, she said following the incident the Foreign Ministry took necessary measures to follow up the case. An Iranian delegation visited the country and proposed formation of a joint committee by the two countries to carry out more specific cooperation, she noted. Asked to comment on the remarks of the Iranian foreign minister regarding exchange of messages between Iran and the US, she said what Mohammad Javad Zarif said suggested that some sort of exchange of concepts took place between the two countries. He did not mention anything about exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington, Ms Afkham reiterated. Asked whether the Omani Sultan carried any message from Washington during his recent visit to Tehran, she dismissed such claims as just media speculations./end