MOSCOW, December 5 (Sputnik) — EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini asked her predecessor Catherine Ashton to stay in her role as the bloc's negotiator in the nuclear talks with Iran, the EU External Action Service said in a Friday press release.
According to the statement, the EU veteran diplomat has been appointed as Mogherini's "Special Adviser for facilitating the nuclear talks with Iran."
"To ensure the continuity of negotiations, which require full-time dedication, Catherine Ashton will facilitate the talks and report regularly to the High Representative [Mogherini]," the document read.
As a special adviser, Ashton will attend Iranian nuclear talks on those occasions when foreign ministers from the P5+1 group (Russia, the United States, Britain, France, China and Germany) "together meet the Iranian Foreign Minister".
Catherine Ashton will be assisted in her "endeavours" to reach a comprehensive deal with Tehran by the team of EU Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs, Helga Schmid.
The West has accused Iran of developing a nuclear weapon under the guise of a civilian program. Tehran, however, repeatedly said that its nuclear program has purely peaceful implications.
Ashton stayed on in the talks as an EU negotiator after she was succeeded as EU high representative for foreign affairs by Italy's then-Foreign Minister Mogherini on November 1.
During the talks on November 24 in Vienna, Tehran and the P5+1 group failed to reach a long-term agreement, extending the talks until July 2015.
