THE GUARDIAN: Tehran ready to hold talks 'in a place and on a date convenient to both sides', says letter to EU foreign policy chief
Iran has said it is willing to resume the stalled international talks over its contentious nuclear programme, the EU said today.Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, sent the EU's foreign policy chief, the British peer Lady Ashton, a letter saying he was prepared to continue the talks, which halted a year ago, "in a place and on a date convenient to both sides" after 10 November.
"I think this is a very significant move," Ashton told reporters at the EU summit in Brussels. Earlier this month Ashton – who is the main contact point for Iran in talks involving Britain, France and Germany along with the US, Russia and China – invited Jalili for three days of negotiations in Vienna next month.
One unnamed EU diplomat told Reuters the meeting could now take place in Geneva instead and that the aim was for three days of talks with "everything on the table", including a general discussion of Iran's nuclear activities. "We see this all as a very positive sign, there is a strong sense of optimism," the diplomat said. >>> Peter Walker and agencies | Friday, October 29, 2010
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran agrees to nuclear talks as sanctions bite: Iran has succumbed to international pressure to enter talks on its nuclear programme with the EU's top diplomat next month, after the country suffered a series of economic setbacks as sanctions began to bite. >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Friday, October 29, 2010
