Iran, France hold n-talks in Geneva

Senior Iranian and French delegates Wednesday kicked off bilateral talks here to further bridge gaps over Teheran's nuclear programme.

The bilateral talks, led by Iranian Vice Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and French Foreign Ministry Political Director Nicolas de Riviere was who appointed as the new envoy to talks with the P5+1 group, came a day after the US and Iran delegations wrapped up two-day closed door talks in Geneva, Xinhua reported.

After the Iran-US talks, Araqchi told the media that the two sides had intense discussions but exchanged views to prepare the forthcoming round of negotiations next week in Vienna despite differences in opinion.

Iran has started to hold bilateral talks with the members of P5+1 of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, to narrow down the gaps between the sides ahead of the new round of negotiations.

The Iranian negotiating team is poised to hold other bilateral meetings with diplomats from Russia and Germany in the coming days.

The new round of negotiations is scheduled for June 16 to 20 in Vienna. All sides are expected to bring about a comprehensive nuclear agreement before the deadline of July 20, pinned down during a trademark deal struck in November.