PARIS - Talks were under way Tuesday to decide whether the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany would meet with Iranian officials next week in Brussels or Paris to discuss Tehran's controversial nuclear program, the French foreign ministry said.
"We're working on the organization of a ministerial-level meeting with the Iranians, which should take place at the beginning of next week," foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei told reporters.
"For the time being, neither the date nor the place have been confirmed," Mattei added.
Asked whether the meeting would take place in Brussels or Paris, two possibilities mentioned by European diplomats, Mattei simply replied that talkss were ongoing.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said Monday that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer would meet on May 23 in a European capital with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani.
According to Paris-based diplomats, the meeting -- also attended by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana -- would be preceded by preparatory talks bringing together aides to the three EU foreign ministers.
Both meetings could take place in Brussels on May 23 and 24. Another option is to hold the preparatory talks in Brussels, followed by the ministerial meeting in Paris, according to unconfirmed reports.
Next week's meeting was described by Kharazi as possibly the "last round of negotiations" between Iran and the so-called EU-3.
Britain, France and Germany called a crisis meeting with Iran after Tehran announced it would resume uranium conversion work, a move that would violate a November 2004 accord on freezing nuclear fuel work and opening long-term talks.
05/17/2005 13:30 GMT