VIENNA (Reuters) – Efforts to reach a deal over Iran’s nuclear programme are in a “critical phase” ahead of a late November deadline for an agreement to end the decade-old dispute, an EU spokesman said on Thursday after high-level negotiations in Vienna.
“We are trying hard to make progress and remain fully engaged to achieve a comprehensive solution” by the Nov. 24 deadline, said Michael Mann, spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The talks in the Austrian capital included a six-hour meeting on Wednesday between Ashton, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Ashton coordinates talks with Iran on behalf of six world powers, including the United States.
Experts would meet in the coming days to continue technical work on the issue, said Mann. “Diplomatic efforts to find a resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue are now in a critical phase,” his statement read.
