British PM makes first phonecall to Iranian president in decade

David Cameron has became the first British prime minister to make phone call to the Iranian president in more than a decade, ahead of next week's nuclear negotiations in Geneva, said the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday. Cameron "became the first British Prime Minister to call the Iranian President in more than a decade today when he spoke to President (Hassan) Rouhani this afternoon, ahead of this week's nuclear negotiations in Geneva," said the Downing Street spokesperson. The Prime Minister's office disclosed that the two leaders discussed their bilateral relationship, welcoming the steps taken since Rouhani took office. The two agreed to continue efforts to improve the relationship on a step by step and reciprocal basis. The three-day talks held in Geneva earlier this month between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - plus Germany, and Iran failed reach an agreement in Geneva. Representatives from Iran and the five UN Security Council permanent members plus Germany are scheduled to reconvene talks on November 20. On Iran's nuclear program, the spokesperson said Cameron and Rouhani agreed that significant progress had been made in the recent Geneva negotiations and that it was important to seize the opportunity presented by the further round of talks which get underway on Wednesday. "The Prime Minister underlined the necessity of Iran comprehensively addressing the concerns of the international community about their nuclear program, including the need for greater transparency." "On Syria, there was agreement on the need for a political solution to end the bloodshed." Britain and Iran appointed non-resident Charge d'Affaires to each other last week, which was described as an important step towards improving bilateral ties. The British embassy in Iran was closed late 2011 as tensions over a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities ran high. Iran also closed its embassy in Britain the same month. However, their diplomatic relations remained intact despite the closing of the embassies.