France gets new Iran negotiator
France Taps Veteran diplomat Nicolas de Rivière to succeed Jacques Audibert as political director and lead negotiator for the P5+1 talks.
When six world powers and Iran next hold nuclear talks in Vienna June 16th, France will have a new top negotiator.
France’s longtime lead negotiator, political director Jacques Audibert, was tapped in May to head the French Presidential (Elysee) diplomatic office on G-7/G-8 and multilateral issues.
France’s new political director and top negotiator at the P5+1 talks with Iran will be Nicolas de Rivière, who most recently served as France's assistant secretary of UN affairs. De Riviere previously served as France’s deputy permanent representative at the UN in NY, among other diplomatic assignments.
The switch in France's Iran team is not the only personnel change on the horizon, as negotiators seek to reach a final Iran nuclear accord by July 20, when a six month interim deal expires. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is due to step down in October. US Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns, who led a US diplomatic "back channel" to Iran last year, has also announced he will retire in October.
