Iran welcomes new EU trend in negotiations
LONDON, July 6 (IranMania) - Ali Asghar Soltanieh, a top Iranian diplomat involved in negotiations with the European Union on Iran's nuclear issue Ali Asghar Soltanieh called on Europe to remedy past confidence deficits and reiterated the Islamic Republic's offer to give all assurances, IRNA reported.
On the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities "Iran is prepared to give all assurances that our nuclear activities are peaceful and will remain exclusively for peaceful purposes,'' Ali Asghar Soltanieh Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna told IRNA in an interview in Brussels.
Soltaniyeh was here to take part in a conference on Iran's nuclear programme hosted by the Greens in the European Parliament on Wednesday.
It was the first time that Iranian officials were invited to speak in the EP on Iran's nuclear issue.
"We welcome this because the European Parliament represents the European people. They have come to the conclusion to have first hand information from Iranian side in order to have a complete picture of nuclear issue," Soltanieh told IRNA.
"We had a very constructive discussion. We did our best to give facts and figures in order to remove ambiguities" He noted , however, that there was a confidence deficit with Europe for the last thirty years not completing their obligations for continuing their cooperation with Iran's nuclear programme.
"In the last two or three years they were expected to have a constructive approach with us." While they were talking about suspension (of enrichment) their intention was a cessation. That was something not acceptable for us," said the Iranian diplomat "At the same time we welcome the new chapter and the new trend in
negotiations.
"We hope that the European side will remedy these past confidence deficits and we hope that the new round of talks between and Larijani will lead to conclusive results," he said.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani have met several times recently to resolve Iran's nuclear stand-off with the West.
As a first positive gesture Iran has accepted to discuss on how to approach outstanding issue although we are beyond our legal obligations, said Soltanieh.
He called on the UN Security Council to stop its engagement with Iran's nuclear filed and let this file to go back immediately to the IAEA where it belongs to.
"We invite the international community, our friends and others to come to the negotiating table and if there are any concerns, we are ready to remove them all," he noted.
In the meanwhile, the one-day conference titled "Iran's Alternatives to escalation" concluded Wednesday evening with calls for dialogue and engagement to continue between the EU and Iran.
"We achieved our minimum expectations," declared German MEP Angelika Bier who chaired the meeting.
"We have moved away from the black and white conception of things. Dialogue always is worthwhile even if we have difference of opinions," she said.
Diplomats, scholars and civil society representatives from EU, Iran and the Muslim world discussed and debated topics like motivation of different players and steps out of the nuclear crisis, alternatives within the NPT regime and alternative energy scenarios.
[and]
Iran-IAEA-Soltanieh Soltanieh: Europe, put aside from Iran's nuclear issue
Iran's Ambassador to the world atomic energy body Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said on Thursday that the European Union has been eliminated from the decision making process about Iran's nuclear issue after it has been referred to the Security Council.
Speaking to a group of Green Party deputies of the Parliament of Europe and university scholars and researchers, he added that this means that the multilateral policy of Europe has been curtailed by the unilateral US approach through trasnferring the issue from Vienna to New York.
Soltanieh said since the Europe has been actually eliminated from decision making about this issue, the European deputies are expected to try and halt the Security Council's interference immediately so that the Iranian file would be considered within the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Iranian ambassador also said the fact that Iran has accepted an IAEA delegation's visit to Iran to discuss remaining issues within a well defined and scheduled program is indicative of Tehran's resolution to negotiate.
Soltanieh said some AIEA authorities including head of Iran's Safeguard section will visit Iran from 11-13 July to negotiate in this regard. Soltanieh said that he would attend the negotiations in Tehran, adding that Iran's agreement with talks shows the political will and good intention of Islamic Republic of Iran to find a peaceful solution to the problem.
[and]
EU against escalation of sanctions on Iran
Brussels, July 4, IRNA - A top European Union diplomat said Wednesday that the 27-member European bloc wants a political solution to Iran's nuclear issue and that the EU wants to prevent escalation of sanctions on Tehran.
"We want a political solution through dialogue and that is why my boss Solana continues to meet Larijani," said Robert Cooper advisor to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on external and politico-military affairs.
Speaking at a conference on Iran's nuclear issue at the European Parliament Cooper said "we would like to prevent escalations of sanctions." The sanctions, he noted, are a little more than symbolic.
"They are not trade sanctions" he said adding, "we continue to try to reduce escalation through dialogue.
On his part, Ali Asghar Soltanieh Iran's ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna, welcomed the initiative by the Greens in the EP to host the conference.
"We have to have a dialogue to understand each other," he said.
Addressing a large audience of diplomats, Members of European Parliament, analysts overview of Iran's thinkers and journalists, Soltanieh presented nuclear issue from the past till the present.
He reiterated the Islamic Republic's position that weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran's nuclear doctrine saying that negotiations can be fruitful and help make progress, if it would be started without any preconditions.
"The people of the whole world should sand up against nuclear weapons. Iran does not need nuclear weapons. Now we have mastered nuclear technology and the international community has to cope with it," he said.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to be ready to resolve the remaining issues with the Agency (IAEA)," said Soltanieh and underlined Tehran's readiness to negotiate with interested parties on mechanisms that could guarantee the non-diversion of Iran's peaceful activities in the future.
He said IAEA's deputy director general will be visiting Iran soon.
"This is a new big step by Iran. We are prepared to remove ambiguities," he said.
Other speakers ruled out the use of force to resolve Iran's nuclear issue and underlined that dialogue was the only way to resolve the problem.
Dany Cohn-Bendit, co-president of Greens, in his opening remarks said, "We are convinced that we need this kind of dialogue." He noted that the Green party is opposed to nuclear energy in general but no country can be prevented from peaceful use of nuclear technology by use of force.
German MEP Angelika Beer, chair of EP's delegation for relations with Iran said "there is a consensus that military force is absolutely out of the question." Abdelouahab Derbal, Arab League ambassador in Brussels, said the international community has not been able to prove that Iran has gone beyond its legitimate rights to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
He called on all countries in the region to renounce weapons of mass destruction and an end to policy of two sets of measures in dealing with the nuclear issue.
Derbal called on Israel to open all its nuclear sites to IAEA inspections.
Pertinent Links:
1) Iran welcomes new EU trend in negotiations
2) Iran-IAEA-Soltanieh Soltanieh: Europe, put aside from Iran's nuclear issue
3) EU against escalation of sanctions on Iran
Friday, July 06, 2007
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