Senior diplomats from Iran, Saudi Arabia and the European Union met again this week in New York as efforts continue to defuse tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
A gathering, held with the facilitation of the Iraqi ambassador to the UN in New York brought both the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran and other senior representatives from Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, France, the EU, the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council, according to Iranian sources and Bloomberg News.
Iran, in the words of its foreign ministry, has previously expressed its hope in reaching sustainable ties with Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, King Salman of Saudi Arabia expressed hope that the dialogue efforts with Iran will lead to confidence building. Salman however, said that any development of relations should be based on the respect of national sovereignty and the cessation of support for sectarian militias.
In the meetings between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two parties agreed on conducting more future meetings. The next one is expected to be in Jordan yet with an unspecified date or agenda.
Iran has been separately meeting a number of countries at the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. After its talks with various parties in New York, Iran said it expected nuclear talks to also resume soon.
The European Union is playing a crucial part in urging Iran to resume negotiations after the talks stalled in light of the Iranian presidential elections. The EU High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrel was also present in the meeting
