TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior EU diplomat asked Iran on Tuesday to attend the next Brussels Conferences on Afghanistan given Tehran’s influential role in the region.





The European Union’s Deputy Secretary General for the External Action Service Helga Maria Schmid called on Iran to consider participating in the next Brussels Conferences on Afghanistan.

She made the comments at a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour, held in Tehran.

The visiting EU diplomat expressed the hope that Iran’s influential participation would help the successful holding of the conference in Brussels, considering the significance of Iran’s role in the regional developments.

The EU is going to host the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan on October 4-5, 2016.

Ms. Schmid also voiced the EU’s readiness to promote cooperation with Iran to contribute to peace and stability in the region.

For his part, Rahimpour welcomed closer ties with the European Union in the fight against terrorism and extremism in the region.

He also urged the European states to boost economic supports for Afghanistan in the current delicate situation.

In a separate meeting during her stay in Tehran, Schmid met with top Iranian diplomats, Abbas Araqchi and Majid Takht Ravanchi, on Monday.

Speaking to reporters on Monday evening, Takht Ravanchi, a deputy foreign minister and senior member of Iran’s team of negotiators in the nuclear talks with world powers, said they had talked about the process of implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Back in July 2015, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini paid a visit to Tehran days after Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3) managed to finalize the text of the JCPOA.

Mogherini had announced that implementation of the JCPOA will have far-reaching effects on Iran, its ties with Europe and the international community and also on the Middle East region.

The nuclear deal has resulted in routine high-level talks between Iran and the EU.

By Tasnim News Agency