“Ms. [Catherine] Ashton contacted me and expressed her desire for the resumption of talks between Iran and the P5+1. In response…, I reiterated that the Islamic Republic of Iran is willing to resume talks,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday.

Ashton, who is the European Union foreign policy chief, is representing the P5+1 -- United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany -- in their nuclear talks with Iran.

“In the phone conversation, I told Ms. Ashton that we favor a solution instead of merely engaging in talks,” Zarif added.

According to a statement by Ashton’s spokesperson, the EU foreign policy chief “underlined her continued determination and commitment to seek a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue,” during her conversation with Zarif.

Ashton expressed the P5+1’s preparedness “to work with the new Iranian negotiating team as soon as they were appointed.”

Iran and the P5+1 group have held several rounds of talks on a range of issues, with the main focus being on Iran’s nuclear energy program.

The two sides wrapped up their latest round of negotiations on April 6 in the Kazakh city of Almaty. An earlier meeting had been held in the city on February 26-27.

The US, Israel and some of their allies falsely claim that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with Washington and the European Union using the unfounded allegation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions on Iran.

Tehran strongly rejects the groundless claim over its nuclear activities, maintaining that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

MRKD/SHI