European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton has reportedly proposed to meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator early next month to discuss Tehran's nuclear program.
Western news agencies are quoting unnamed EU diplomatic sources as saying that Ashton is due to propose a meeting on December 5, most likely in Switzerland, in a letter to Iran's chief negotiator, Saeed Jalili.
Jalili wrote to Ashton this week offering a meeting on either November 23 or December 5 in Istanbul.
If talks are agreed, it would be the first time in more than a year that Iran has met with Western powers to discuss its nuclear program.
Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has reiterated in recent days that Iran will not negotiate over its right to develop nuclear technology.
compiled from agency reports