‘’There are still some gaps that need to be tackled, and we hope that tonight our European-side contribution can help in solving or closing or narrowing some of these gaps,’’ said EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini at a press conference Monday in Brussels after a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers and just before she hosted a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Germany, France and Britain and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Tehran’s nuclear program ahead of a 31 March deadline.
‘’As you know we are entering in the last two weeks of crucial negotiations,’’ Mogherini said.
After Monday’s meeting, the three Foreign Ministers, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Laurent Fabius and Philip Hammond, and Mogherini stressed their ‘’determination to work towards reaching agreement with Iran on a solution that would address all concerns of the international community on the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear programme.’’
"This was a useful meeting and I am confident it will contribute to advancing the process in the coming days and weeks," Mogherini said.
Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif flew to Brussels after a five-hour meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, earlier Monday with US Secretary of State John Kerry aimed at pushing through a deal before the March 31 deadline.
Zarif is due to return to Lausanne for more talks with Kerry on Tuesday wherepolitical directors from the countries involved in the negotiations – the P5+1 (US,China, Russia,France,Britain plus Germany) will also arrive.
"There have been advances but there are still important points which have not been resolved and we will see if we can move forward," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.