Senior delegates from Iran and France on Wednesday kicked off bilateral talks in Geneva to further bridge gaps over Teheran's nuclear program.
The bilateral talks, led by Iranian Vice Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and French Foreign Ministry Political Director Nicolas de Riviere was who appointed as the new envoy to talks with the P5+1 group, came one day after U.S. and Iran delegations wrapped up two-day closed door talks in Geneva.
After the Iran-United States talks, Araqchi told the media that the two sides had tense discussions but exchanged views to prepare the forthcoming round of negotiations next week in Vienna despite differences in opinion.
Iran has started to hold bilateral talks with the members of P5+1 of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, to narrow down the gaps between the sides ahead of the new round of negotiations.
The Iranian negotiating team is poised to hold other bilateral meetings with diplomats from Russia and Germany in the coming days.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham on Wednesday said the purpose of the talks is to make much of the time before the upcoming high-level negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group.
The new round of negotiations will be scheduled on June 16 to 20 in Vienna. All sides are expected to bring about a comprehensive nuclear agreement before the deadline of July 20, pinned down during a trademark deal struck in November.