Brussels, 13/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - The E3+3 (Germany, France, United Kingdom and China, United States, Russia) and Iran have decided to suspend the technical negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue in order to allow consultations in the countries' capitals after four days of discussions, on 9-12 December, on the details of the joint action plan for implementation - which was agreed in Geneva on 24 November (see EUROPE 10970), said a high-level diplomat on 13 December.
“After four days of lengthy and detailed talks, reflecting the complexity of the technical issues discussed, it became clear that further work is needed”, said Michael Mann, the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. He added that there will be consultations in the capitals, “in the expectation that technical talks will continue soon”. According to the Iranian news agency Irna, which quotes an Iranian negotiator, the Iranian team broke off the discussions with its Western counterparts for consultations with Tehran - but there was no further detail.
The technical discussions between the E3+3 experts and Iran, initially planned for 9-10 December, continued until in Vienna until 12 December. (CG/transl.fl)