Photostream : Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad meets EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton

Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad (R) shows EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton an area disputed with Israel on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 6, 2011. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton, left, and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, right, gesture towards Ofer prison, an Israeli detention facility for Palestinians, as they tour the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011. Ashton is on an official visit to the region. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad (R) shows EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton an area disputed with Israel on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 6, 2011. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad (R) shows EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton an area disputed with Israel on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 6, 2011. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

EU: Iran Ready to Resume Nuclear Talks

EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton (file photo)

October 29, 2010 (KATAKAMI / VOA) --- The European Union's foreign policy chief says Iran is ready to resume talks about its nuclear program.

Catherine Ashton told reporters in Brussels Friday that she received a letter from Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, saying he is prepared to restart talks after November 10.

Ashton called the offer an "important development."

The EU foreign policy chief had proposed meeting with Jalili in mid-November on behalf of the P5 + 1, which includes Germany and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

The Security Council has imposed four sets of sanctions on Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium, which can be used to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.

(MS)