Javier Solana, who led the European Union’s negotiations with Iran until 2009, said an agreement on the country’s nuclear program during President Hassan Rouhani was possible, Bloomberg reported citing Tehran-based newspaper Shargh.

“Based on what I know of him, he is a politician who’s perceptive and open minded,” Solana, who had met Rouhani when the Iranian cleric was the country’s top nuclear negotiator, said in an interview with the newspaper. “He is someone with whom one can come to an agreement.”

Solana urged Iran and western nations, which have been at odds over the country’s nuclear work for over a decade, to “take this opportunity seriously” and strive for an accord, according to the newspaper. The U.S. and its allies say Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. The Islamic republic says the program is for civilian purposes only.

Solana was in Tehran to attend Rouhani’s inauguration ceremony after he was endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the job yesterday. He succeeds Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.