PM Netanyahu
Photo: AFP
Netanyahu says Russians toughened stance on Iran nukes
PM tells cabinet Moscow more open to imposing sanctions on Tehran, while China's position unchanged. Europeans' position regarding Iran unyielding, he adds
While Iran and the six world powers were conducting negotiations in Geneva on Tehran's nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told cabinet that Russia was more open to possible sanctions against Iran, but added, "As for the Chinese, they are apparently not on board."
Nuke Talks
Associated Press
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"The diplomatic situation vis-à-vis Iran has improved, but (Iran) is continuing with its nuclear program," said the PM.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France — plus Germany hope to persuade Tehran to freeze the enrichment program.
Going into Thursday's talks, one of the top US goals was to get the Iranians to commit to a second round of talks within a couple of weeks in order to keep the dialogue in a compact timeframe. The US assumption was that if Iran was willing to engage seriously on the nuclear issue, a positive sign would be its agreement to have a second meeting shortly.
From talks he had held during the recent UN General Assembly's annual session in New York, Netanyahu concluded that the Europeans' position regarding Iran was "unyielding," adding that the US also showed "more resolve."
The PM also briefed his ministers on his meeting with US President Barack Obama, which was held on the sidelines of the General Assembly session, and expressed his satisfaction with the fact that Washington dropped its demand for a complete halt to settlement construction in the West Bank as a prerequisite for renewing the peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
However, he added that there were still gaps between Washington and Jerusalem regarding settlement construction and the borders of a future Palestinian state.
Associated Press contributed to the report
