Javier Solana
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
'Our nation is a supporter of peace .' Ahmadinejad
Photo: AP
EU gives diplomacy 2 more weeks in Iran standoff
European foreign ministers agree to give diplomacy two more weeks to clarify Iran’s stance on halting sensitive nuclear work after Tehran ignored UN deadline to stop uranium enrichment; ‘after what happened on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, we really have to convince people that we have gone the extra mile,’ diplomat says
European Union foreign ministers agreed on Saturday to give diplomacy two more weeks to clarify Iran’s stance on halting sensitive nuclear work after Tehran ignored a UN Deadline to stop uranium enrichment.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will meet Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, in Europe early next week to try to clear up ambiguities in Tehran’s 21-page reply to a major power offer of cooperation if it stops work that could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.
Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel told Reuters after the 25 ministers discussed the issue at a meeting in Finland:
Nuclear Program
Yitzhak Benhorin
US ambassador to UN says Security Council should act upon its threat to impose sanctions on Iran
“We give Solana two weeks for his clarification talks.”
Other ministers and EU negotiator Javier Solana said this was not a deadline but that Solana would report to their next regular meeting on Sept. 15 and they would take no action against Iran before then.
Solana said he would also speak to Larijani on behalf of the six powers—the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany—which offered the package of economic, technological and political incentives to Iran in June.
Annan (2nd from left) in Tehran (Photo: AFP)
“We need some sessions—one, two, no more probably—to clarify some of the issues in the two papers, particularly the second paper which they sent us,” he told a news conference.
An EU official said there could be informal consultations among UN Security Council members before then but the Council would not formally take up the matter.
Iran defied an Aug. 31 UN Deadline to halt uranium enrichment and has given no sign it will meet the international community’s key condition for opening negotiations.
Asked when he expected Tehran to comply with the UN Resolution, Solana said: “Yesterday.”
'We need to stick together with the United States'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remained defiant on Saturday as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan visited Tehran for talks on Lebanon and the nuclear dispute.
“Our nation is a supporter of peace but it will not retreat an iota from its right to nuclear technology,” the ISNA student news agency quoted him as saying.
The United States, which accuses Iran of seeking nuclear bombs, said on Friday it was consulting European governments about possible sanctions.
EU diplomats said ministers wanted to take a bit more time before considering any action, not so much because they believed Tehran would have a change of heart but to show the public and skeptical Security Council powers Russia and China that they had explored every avenue.
“After what happened on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, we really have to convince people that we have gone the extra mile,” one said.
Ministers declined to speak publicly about what sanctions they might apply if Tehran did not comply.
“We are not at the stage yet where we would discuss sanctions, but we will take one step at a time,” Said Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, who chaired the meeting.
Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said a coalition might have to impose sanctions unilaterally if the United Nations was unable to agree on punitive measures.
“It will be very very difficult, but ... Please, we need to stick together with the United States,” he told reporters.
British Europe Minister Geoff Hoon said Iran had had plenty of time to respond and he called for “Robust action”.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the EU and Germany had no interest in an escalation in the coming days and weeks due to deliberations in the Security Council.
