Special Report: Iran Nuclear
Crisis
 |
|
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
(L) stands next to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili before a
meeting on nuclear issues at the Town Hall in Geneva July 19, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
GENEVA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- EU foreign policy chief
Javier Solana started talks Saturday with Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili
over Tehran's disputed nuclear program in the presence of U.S. Undersecretary of
State William Burns.
Burns, the first U.S. diplomat to attend negotiations
with Iran in 30 years, will be listening, not negotiating, in the talks, U.S.
officials said. But his presence was widely seen as a major policy shift by
Washington on Iran.
At the one-day meeting, Solana is expected to sound
out Iran's position on the long-standing dispute. The West fears that Iran's
nuclear program is aimed at making atomic bombs instead of generating power.
Tehran says its nuclear work is for peaceful purposes only.
The talks would focus on an updated package of
incentives offered by six world powers (five permanent members of the UN
Security Council plus Germany) to Tehran in a bid to breathe life into the
deadlocked talks.
The package of incentives suggests that Iran get a
temporary reprieve from economic and financial sanctions in exchange for
freezing its enrichment activities.
 |
|
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana
(L) shakes hand with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili before a
meeting on nuclear issues at the Town Hall in Geneva July 19, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
Preliminary negotiations over a permanent halt could
then begin, although the United States would not join them until after Iran
agrees to fully suspend uranium enrichment.
Iran responded to the package in a letter to Solana
early this month and also presented its own package of proposals to the world
powers.
Neither Solana nor Jalili made any comments as they
went into talks at a Geneva city government building. Burns did not speak
either.
Shortly before the meeting, a senior Iranian official
said Iran will not halt its uranium enrichment, a key demand of the West.
There is "no chance" that Iran will stop its uranium enrichment, the official, Keyvan Imani, said.
 |
|
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana (L) and Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili pose for a photo before their talks in Geneva, Swiss, July 19, 2008.(Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
The Iranian rejection cast doubt on the meeting as
the United States has set the freeze of uranium enrichment as a precondition for
the start of real negotiations.
"That remains the U.S. position and it will continue
to be the U.S. position," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in
Washington.
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr
Mottaki hailed the nuclear talks as a positive step, adding that more meetings
may be needed to produce results.
"We evaluate today's Geneva negotiations as positive
and constructive," Mottaki told reporters. "Today's meeting might continue with
several others so that the view points of all sides can be put on the table."
The Iranian foreign minister hoped the talks will
create a "framework" for future negotiations aimed at ending the nuclear
stalemate.
"I hope that today's talks will lead to a framework
for negotiations," he said, adding that the talks can satisfy both sides.
Iranian FM says nuclear talks signal
positive outlook
 |
|
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr
Mottaki speaks during a news conference at the United Nations headquarters
in New York July 2, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
ANKARA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki said Friday that forthcoming nuclear talks in Geneva with the
participation of a U.S. diplomat for the first time signaled good developments
ahead.
Mottaki made the remarks at a joint news conference with
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan in the Turkish capital of Ankara. Full story
Turkey supports dialogue on Iran's
nuke issue
ANKARA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali
Babacan said Friday Turkey supports holding dialogue on Iran's nuclear program.
Babacan made the remarks at a joint news conference
following his talks with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in
the Turkish capital of Ankara. Full story
Iran welcomes U.S. involvement in
nuclear talks
DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Iranian Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki welcomed on Thursday a U.S. involvement in its
nuclear talks, hoping the U.S. presence would produce positive developments.
Mottaki made the remark in a joint press conference
with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallem after meeting with Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad. Full story
U.S. decision to join Iran nuclear
talks far from being all-out policy shift
WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. decision to send
a senior official to participate in international talks on the Iranian nuclear
issue is a positive signal, but the move is far from being an all-out policy
shift of the George W. Bush-led U.S. administration.
White House spokesperson Dana Perino confirmed on
Wednesday that William Burns, the undersecretary of state for political affairs,
will attend Saturday's international talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator
Saeed Jalili in Geneva. Full story
White House: U.S. official to
reiterate Iran talks conditions
WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- William Burns, U.S.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, will reiterate Washington's
stance that high-level U.S.-Iran talks are possible if Iran halts its uranium
enrichment, the White House said Wednesday.
Confirming the report that Burns will attend
international talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Geneva
on Saturday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that it would be an
opportunity for Burns to reiterate that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
would meet her Iranian counterpart "any time, anywhere to move forward on
negotiations if they (the Iranians) would halt uranium enrichment." Full story
