Iranian FM Meets Saud Al-Faisal, Kerry in NY

Local Editor

The Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers met on Sunday in New York, with their rival states brought together by their opposition to the ISIL extremist group, the Iranian government said.

"This is a new page in relations between the two countries," Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif said, quoted on the government's website.

He further stated: "We hope this will have a positive impact on restoring peace and security in the region and the world, and for the interests of all Muslim nations."
His Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal, referring to the "ISIL" onslaught in Iraq and Syria, was quoted as saying: "We believe we must avoid the errors of the past to successfully confront the current crisis."

This comes as Zarif met US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss key issues in New York.

The issue of the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program was one of the main pivots of the discussion between Zarif and his American counterpart.

The meeting between the two senior officials, which was held at a hotel on Sunday, came on the third day of the latest round of negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group.

"They [Zarif and Kerry] discussed both the progress that has been made and the work that still needs to be done," a senior State Department official said after the meeting.

Kerry "noted that this week is an opportunity to make additional progress and stressed that it is our intention to do so," he added.

According to a readout of the meeting by a senior State Department Official, a US official said the two met for over an hour at a hotel. The official said Kerry and Zarif "agreed to meet further as needed while in New York."

The official said Kerry and Zarif also discussed "the threat posed by ISIL."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team