ISTANBUL
The deputy foreign ministers of Iran and the EU3 countries -- France, Germany and the U.K. -- met Thursday in Istanbul as a part of efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministers Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi and U.K.'s Simon Gass, France's Nicolas Dorier and Germany's Hans-Dieter Lucas participated in the gathering.
Speaking to The Anadolu Agency after the talks, the Iranian deputy foreign minister said, "We have mostly discussed the subjects of uranium enrichment and sanctions during the talks (…) but it is early to come to a conclusion (about the talks)."
The date and place of the next meeting have not yet been determined, Araqchi added. "It will be clear soon," he said.
Recent talks were held in Zurich between representatives of the United States and the European Union on Saturday. They discussed suspending uranium enrichment and the complete removal of sanctions in talks which Iran’s Abbas Araqchi described as "constructive."
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the U.S., U.K., China, France and Russia -- plus Germany, also known as the P5+1 group, believe that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and want Tehran to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
However, Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes. Tehran agreed to limit certain aspects of its controversial program in exchange for some relief in international sanctions under a deal reached in November, 2013 in Geneva.
