EU foreign policy chief says liaising with 'representatives of civil society' is central to her role when travelling
The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, on Tuesday has defended her talks with human rights activists during a recent visit to Iran, saying meeting dissidents is a central part of her official travels.
Speaking on the sidelines of talks in Vienna between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's contested nuclear programme, coordinated by Ashton, her spokesman said meetings with civil society representatives abroad were "quite normal'.
On Monday Iran's official news agency reported that foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had cancelled a dinner with Lady Ashton on the eve of talks due to her "undiplomatic" behaviour, an apparent reference to the Tehran meeting. Iran has also warned the Austrian embassy in Tehran, after it hosted a meeting between Ashton and six Iranian women on 8 March, that such contacts could jeopardise relations between it and Europe, according to Iranian media.
"She always sees civil society representatives, particularly women, when she travels to a country," said Michael Mann, Ashton's spokesman, in Vienna. Ashton's two-day visit to Tehran was the first by an EU foreign policy chief since 2008 and was part of her effort to build relations with the Islamic republic in parallel to the nuclear diplomacy she oversees.
The Vienna meeting, expected to last until Wednesday, is the second in a series that the west hopes will culminate in a broad settlement in the decade-old dispute that threatens to drag the Middle East into a new war.
Western governments – the United States, Britain, France and Germany – as well as China and Russia want Iran to curtail its nuclear programme to the point where they would feel secure it could not yield atomic bombs.
They hope that the election of a relatively moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, last year on a platform of ending Iran's international isolation will help reach a deal and pave way for a broad rapprochement with the Opec producer.
Iran denies having any military intentions and wants the west to lift massive economic sanctions that have crippled its economy since 2006.
Ashton said after meeting Zarif, who represents Iran in the nuclear talks, in Tehran that there was a potential for a dialogue over human rights issues in the future.
Human rights activists fear that Iran's rapprochement with the west could lead to a relaxation of international scrutiny of the Islamic republic's widely criticised human rights record.
At least 80 people have been executed in Iran already this year, a surge in the use of the death penalty that has dampened hopes for human rights reforms under Rouhani, a spokesman for the United Nations said on 21 February.
Analysts note, however, that Iran's judiciary is under the sway of hardline conservative ideologues rather than Rouhani. Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, on Tuesday has defended her talks with human rights activists during a recent visit to Iran, saying meeting dissidents is a central part of her official travels.
Speaking on the sidelines of talks in Vienna between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's contested nuclear programme, coordinated by Ashton, her spokesman said meetings with civil society representatives abroad were "quite normal'.
On Monday Iran's official news agency reported that foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had cancelled a dinner with Lady Ashton on the eve of talks due to her "undiplomatic" behaviour, an apparent reference to the Tehran meeting. Iran has also warned the Austrian embassy in Tehran, after it hosted a meeting between Ashton and six Iranian women on 8 March, that such contacts could jeopardise relations between it and Europe, according to Iranian media.
"She always sees civil society representatives, particularly women, when she travels to a country," said Michael Mann, Ashton's spokesman, in Vienna. Ashton's two-day visit to Tehran was the first by an EU foreign policy chief since 2008 and was part of her effort to build relations with the Islamic republic in parallel to the nuclear diplomacy she oversees.
The Vienna meeting, expected to last until Wednesday, is the second in a series that the west hopes will culminate in a broad settlement in the decade-old dispute that threatens to drag the Middle East into a new war.
Western governments – the United States, Britain, France and Germany – as well as China and Russia want Iran to curtail its nuclear programme to the point where they would feel secure it could not yield atomic bombs.
They hope that the election of a relatively moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, last year on a platform of ending Iran's international isolation will help reach a deal and pave way for a broad rapprochement with the Opec producer.
Iran denies having any military intentions and wants the west to lift massive economic sanctions that have crippled its economy since 2006.
Ashton said after meeting Zarif, who represents Iran in the nuclear talks, in Tehran that there was a potential for a dialogue over human rights issues in the future.
Human rights activists fear that Iran's rapprochement with the west could lead to a relaxation of international scrutiny of the Islamic republic's widely criticised human rights record.
At least 80 people have been executed in Iran already this year, a surge in the use of the death penalty that has dampened hopes for human rights reforms under Rouhani, a spokesman for the United Nations said on 21 February.
Analysts note, however, that Iran's judiciary is under the sway of hardline conservative ideologues rather than Rouhani. Reported by guardian.co.uk 6 hours ago.