Kerry to meet with German, French counterparts for Iran nuclear talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry is going to meet with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Saturday to discuss the Iranian nuclear program, a US State Department official said.


Kerry is expected to have a one-on-one meeting with the top French diplomat, the source told Agence France Presse (AFP). They will later be joined by Germany's Steinmeier for a working lunch.


Ahead of meeting his allies, the US diplomat is anticipated to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.


Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may arrive in Lausanne sometime over the weekend, Russia's chief negotiator at the nuclear talks said Friday.


The talks to pressure Iran into dismantling its controversial nuclear program will continue over the weekend, ahead of a critical deadline on March 31.


By this time, Tehran and the six major world powers – France, Britain, China, Russia, the United States and Germany – are expected to have hammered out a framework deal, to be followed by a comprehensive agreement by June 30, 2015.