WASHINGTON, Sept 22: US Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif to review the progress made in the P5+1 negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, an American official said.
“They spent time reviewing the status of the EU-led P5+1 (comprising the US, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany) negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. They discussed both the progress that has been made and the work that still needs to be done,” a senior State Department official said.
The meeting lasted for about an hour in New York.
Both the leaders first they met one-on-one, and then were joined by the Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, and the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman on the US side.
Besides Zarif, the Iranian delegation was represented by deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Abbas Araghchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi, deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs.
“Kerry noted that this week is an opportunity to make additional progress and stressed that it is our intention to do so,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The two leaders also discussed the threat posed by Islamic State (IS), the terrorist organisation that has gained control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria and threatens regional peace.
“Going forward, the Secretary and Foreign Minister Zarif agreed to meet further as needed while in New York this week,” the official said. (PTI)
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