Ashton said on Tuesday that European officials met last weekend with aides to the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili, adding that she plans to meet directly with him [Jalili] soon, Associated Press reported.
The announcement is seen as a key step in the resumption of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group -- which consists of Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US plus Germany -- over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.
Last time, Ashton and Jalili, met in Istanbul on September 18. Previous talks had been held in Moscow in June. The two sides have also held several rounds of multifaceted talks whose main focus was the Iranian nuclear energy program.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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