World powers which backed a package to defuse a dispute with Iran over its nuclear ambitions are ready to respond to Iran’s call for talks but only if it first suspends uranium enrichment, France said on Wednesday.
Iran replied to the incentives package offered by six nations on Tuesday, saying it contained ideas that would allow serious talks to start immediately. The West has in the past said such calls for talks were a tactic to stall and not act.
”As we have always said … a return to the negotiating table is tied to the suspension of uranium enrichment,” French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told a news conference.
But there has been no sign Tehran agreed to the precondition that it halt enrichment before talks start. The United Nations Security Council has given Iran until August 31 to freeze the work which has civilian and military uses or face possible sanctions.
The five permanent UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, offered Iran economic and other incentives to stop enrichment. So far, they have been tight-lipped about Iran’s reply.
One EU diplomat earlier said Iran ruled out halting enrichment before talks in the 21-page reply ”but indicated that it might be open to accept suspension in the course of negotiations”.
Other diplomats declined to confirm Iran had shown flexibility on enrichment.
The Washington Post quoted unidentified officials from countries involved saying Iran was willing to consider halting its atomic programme but not as a precondition for talks.
Douste-Blazy described the reply as ”a very long, complex document” and said the six powers would decide in a few days what to do in the Security Council.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who delivered the offer to Iran in June, said it was ”extensive and therefore requires a detailed and careful analysis”.
The White House said on Tuesday US President George Bush had yet to examine the reply. But the US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said Washington was ready to move quickly on a resolution seeking sanctions if Tehran rejected the offer.
”In the reply, although [the West] has taken destructive measures, Iran has tried to create new opportunities for resolving the issue,” senior Iranian nuclear official Ali Hosseinitash told Iran’s official Irna news agency.
‘Constructive steps’
Analysts say Iran’s answer was probably designed to divide Security Council members Russia and China, both key trade partners of Tehran, from the United States, France and Britain which have backed tougher sanctions.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement urged Iran to consider international concerns and take ”constructive steps”, but added: ”We also hope that other parties remain patient and calm.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying: ”Russia will continue with the idea of seeking a political, negotiated settlement concerning Iran’s nuclear programme.”
The world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, Iran says it will not abandon uranium enrichment for peaceful means, which it says is its right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Western diplomats say Iran only has that right once it has proved it is not seeking atomic bombs. The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says questions need to be answered before it gives Iran a clean bill of health.
The package offered Iran state-of-the-art nuclear technology, the easing of some trade restrictions and other incentives such as support for a regional security dialogue.
After receiving the offer, Iran had said it had ambiguities that needed clarification. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that 100 questions were attached to Iran’s reply.
”They are betting that they can splinter the coalition,” said US-based non-proliferation expert Jon Wolfsthal of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
”The question is can the United States convince these countries [China and Russia] to stay on board?,” he asked. – Reuters