British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Monday he hoped that nuclear talks with Iran in Geneva on Wednesday would be successful, but stressed that negotiations are going to be "tough." "I am not going to anticipate the outcome of the negotiations. I expect they will be tough. I hope very much that they will be successful as had previous discussions,'' Straw told reporters in Brussels ahead of a meeting of European Union Foreign Ministers.
He said negotiations with Iran will be taking place in Geneva on Wednesday between the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK. According to news agencies, "the meeting aims at ensuring that both sides stick to the commitments which have been made in the Paris agreement last November," he said.
"This will be the seventh round of discussion with Iran since we started the process in the summer of 2003 . "The Iranians are tough negotiators. .. It is in the interests of Iran, Europe and the international community that we should reach an agreement," he added.
EU and Iranian diplomatic sources told IRNA that the nuclear talks at expert level is expected to take place in Brussels on Tuesday. However, Iran's Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rowhani is expected to meet the foreign ministers of France, Germany, the UK and EU High Representative for a common foreign and security policy, Javier Solana, in Geneva on Wednesday, May 25.
