Europe seeks negotiation with Iran on nuclear issue
Iran-European Union, Politics, 4/23/2007

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said today that diplomacy is the only way to resolve Iran's nuclear standoff with the West.

Solana said following a meeting of EU foreign ministers this afternoon that he will be meeting Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Wednesday in a fresh attempt to resolve the nuclear issue.

Iran's Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani today said that previous talks on Iran's nuclear issue led to some results, adding that however, some adventurists interfered in the matter.

Larijani hoped that the West's approach to the issue will change during talks and that they will attempt to attract the confidence of the Iranian nation to such negotiations. Meanwhile, he said that this depends on the process of talks, adding that the methods of pursuing the outcome should be exactly distinguished.

Concerning a decision to impose the UNSC sanctions against Iran by the EU Ministerial Council on the threshold of his upcoming talks with Solana and whether this means that Europe intends to exclude uranium enrichment and production of nuclear fuel for industrial use in the upcoming talks, Larijani said, "Part of such a law has been approved, which according to the UNSC is not very strange.

"In the meantime, some agreements are being signed between European countries and Iran on various fields, such as gas." Larijani said that it will be beneficial to Europe to prepare a proper ground for solving the issue, given that opposing the will of the Iranian nation is not beneficial to Europe.

He declared Iran's readiness to attempt towards understanding on the issue. "This is the tradition and thinking trend of Iranians, who are not simple-minded. In fact, they wish the issue to be solved through peaceful talks," he added.

He underlined that if the approach of West to Iran's nuclear issue is realistic, no preset conditions should be brought up during the talks, given that new conditions require new initiatives.

A member of Iran's Majlis Presiding Board has welcomed the European Union's new stance and its eagerness to resume negotiations on Iran's nuclear dossier. Hamid-Reza Hajibabaie, accompanying Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on his tour of Latin American countries, said that the West will gradually adopt rational stance in dealing with Iran's nuclear activities.

Meantime, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad on Friday said that no one has the right to bring a halt to progress of the peaceful nuclear energy program of Iran. He said that the right to use peaceful nuclear energy belonged to all Iranians and "No one can retreat from this right."

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said had said on Thursday that Europe should notice, in the new phase of its nuclear talks with Iran, that Iran has entered the stage of making nuclear activities at industrial scale.

Mottaki stressed that the new round of talks between Larijani and Solana should be held "with no preconditions and based on the existing realities."

Previous Stories:
  Common Iranian resolve on the Nuclear issue   (4/16/2007)
  Iran begins nuclear fuel production at industrial level   (4/9/2007)
  Ahmadi-Nejad speaks of nuclear program success   (4/2/2007)
  Iran - EU officials meet on nuclear issue   (9/27/2006)
  EU softens on Iranian nuclear program   (9/14/2006)
  Solana, Larijani to meet on nuclear issue   (9/11/2006)

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