Talks on the Iranian nuclear issue between Deputy High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy, Helga Schmidt and Deputy Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Baghiri will be held on July 24 in Istanbul, RIA Novosti reported on Monday, quoting the press service of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton.
The sides agreed to hold a meeting between Schmidt and Baghiri based on the results of negotiations on July 3 in Istanbul. Then the European side and the Iranians "have studied the position on a number of technical issues" and discussed the proposals of the parties in detail.
Iran and 5+1 group (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States plus Germany) held three sessions of talks in Baghdad on May 23 and 24 after an earlier round of negotiations in the Turkish city of Istanbul in mid-April.
Another round of nuclear talks was held in Moscow on June 18-19. The Iranian negotiating delegation in the Moscow talks was led by Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili, and the P5+1 group of countries was headed by Catherine Ashton.
At the end of two days of talks between Iran and the P5+1 - China, Russia, Britain, France, the US and Germany - on June 19, the sides agreed to hold a follow-on technical level meeting in the Turkish city of Istanbul on July 3.
U.S., other Western countries, and Israel suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of peaceful nuclear energy program. Tehran denies the charges, saying its nuclear program is for anything but military purposes.
A number of states and international organizations, including the United Nations, adopted sanctions against Iran demanding from the Islamic republic to ensure full transparency of its nuclear program and to prove that it is exclusively for peaceful purposes.