The Secretary-General met today with H.E. Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, Foreign Minister of Iran. They discussed international issues of mutual concern, including Iran’s nuclear programme, the situation in Syria and regional developments.
On the Iranian nuclear programme, the Secretary-General said he was encouraged that the P5+1 and Iran had agreed in Almaty on dates and venues for further meetings soon. He said this was in line with his repeated calls on those involved to accelerate the pace of negotiations. He said the onus remained on Iran to gain the confidence and trust of the international community.
On Syria, the Secretary-General and the Minister discussed recent developments, including what the Secretary-General described as the very small window of opportunity represented by moves to try to start a political dialogue. They agreed on the need for the international community to fully support the work of the Joint Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi. They also discussed concerns about the risk of spillover from the Syrian crisis into Lebanon.