Talking to reporters at the Biarritz summit, President Trump said he had not been surprised that France had invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for talks on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 gathering.

However, he said he had not wanted to see Zarif himself, adding that it was too soon for such an encounter. “It’s too soon to meet, I didn’t want to,” Trump declared.

PARIS—French President Emmanuel Macron met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in the  town of Biarritz, describing his talks as “positive.”

He said the talks, which also included Germany and Britain, would continue.

Zarif made a surprise visit to Biarritz for several hours on Sunday amid European efforts to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

“The discussions are positive and are ongoing,” an official in President Emmanuel Macron’s office said of the talks, which drew in both Macron and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian as well as German and British officials.

The French official added that the decision to invite Zarif had been taken “in agreement with the United States, in perfect harmony.”

Tensions between Iran and the United States have ratcheted up since Washington last year withdrew from the 2015 deal witb Iran.

Talking to reporters at the Biarritz summit, President Trump said he had not been surprised that France had invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for talks on Sunday on the sidelines of the G7 gathering.

However, he said he had not wanted to see Zarif himself, adding that it was too soon for such an encounter. “It’s too soon to meet, I didn’t want to,” Trump declared.

A White House official said France’s invitation to Zarif for talks on the sidelines of the meeting in the Basque beachside town of Biarritz was “a surprise,” and there were no immediate plans for U.S. officials to meet him.