US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks in Washington, DC on April 23, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jim Watson)
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet his Iranian counterpart in New York on Monday, the first time since their marathon talks which sealed the outlines of an emerging nuclear deal.
Kerry will hold talks with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the 2015 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conference at the United Nations, a senior State Department official said Sunday.
It would be the first meeting between the top diplomats since the April 2 deal reached in Lausanne, Switzerland setting out the parameters for a historic accord to curtail Iran’s suspect nuclear program.
Work on the framework Iran agreement must be completed by June 30 but it is already earning praise as a potential happy ending to one of the world’s most vexing nuclear disputes.
Kerry, who was to address the conference, is in store for a busy day in New York.
He was already scheduled, with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, to meet with Japanese counterparts.
In addition, the senior State Department official said Kerry will hold separate talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. -AFP