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EU hopes talks will mark re-engagement with Iran

03 December 2010 22:51 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The European Union hopes talks next week with Iran’s nuclear negotiator will be the start of a re-engagement with the Tehran government that will eventually lead to results, an EU source said on Friday, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton will meet Saeed Jalili in Geneva on Dec. 6-7 for the first high-level discussions with Iran since Oct. 2009.
"This is an important meeting; we’ve waited a long time for it. It’s not an important meeting because it will solve problems instantly or produce instant results. We hope it will produce a re-engagement with Iran ... which over time will produce results," the source told reporters.
Ashton has the backing of the EU’s Britain, France and Germany along with the United States, Russia and China to hold talks with Iran.
The six powers are hoping the discussions will focus on Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said that uranium enrichment activity will not be up for negotiation.