European Union foreign policy chief
Javier Solana pauses as he attends a meeting with Iran's chief nuclear
negotiator Ali Larijani (not seen) in Ankara April 25, 2007. Hopes for a
breakthrough at the talks between Larijani and Solana were dampened in the
run-up by a renewed Iranian vow not to stop enrichment despite increasing
sanctions pressure.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
ANKARA,
April 25 (Xinhua) -- Iranian and EU negotiators on Wednesday finished two rounds
of what they called pleasant talks on Iran's nuclear program and said that they
scheduled a new round of talks in two weeks.
At the end of Wednesday's six-hour two rounds of
discussions, Iranian top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani told reporters, "We
will have some talks tomorrow and in two weeks." He also described Wednesday's
discussions as pleasant.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also termed
their discussions as "very constructive", adding the talks "will continue
tomorrow and in the coming weeks also."
After their first meeting at Ankara's Swissotel, the
two held an impromptu dinner party and continued their talks, which was taken by
as many as a positive signal of the progress of their talks.
In a brief statement prior to their first meeting,
Solana told reporters that he came to this meeting with a constructive attitude.
Solana said that he hopes there will be progress this
time, adding that these preparatory meetings would pave the way to meaningful
negotiations.
Meanwhile, Larijani stated at Ankara's Esenboga
airport that he arrived here in order to discuss "fresh ideas" that might be
brought up during the talks with Solana.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met
Larijani during a luncheon before the two's meeting and tried to persuade Iran
to stop uranium enrichment and return to the negotiating table, local media
reported.
On Thursday morning, Larijani and Solana will meet
with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is the
ruling party's candidate for the next presidency.
The United States has accused Iran of trying to
develop nuclear weapons under the cover of civilian nuclear programs.
However, Iran has denied the accusation and shown no
sign of yielding in the nuclear stand-off, saying its uranium enrichment has
reached an industrial level. It also announced its wishes to install over 50,000
uranium enriching centrifuges at a plant in Natanz.
BRUSSELS, April 23 (Xinhua) -- EU foreign
policy chief Javier Solana said in Luxembourg on Monday that he could not
guarantee his forthcoming talks with Iran would be a success, but he would like
to try again to break the impasse over the country's nuclear program.
Solana will meet with Iran's top nuclear negotiator
Ali Larijani on Wednesday in Turkey in a bid to persuade Iran to stop uranium
enrichment and return to the negotiating table. Full story
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