Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani kept mum yesterday
on the international proposals on the Iranian nuclear issue.
He would not say whether Tehran would respond soon to the
proposals drawn up by the five permanent members of the UN Security
Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US -- plus
Germany.
The US and the EU were pressing for a reply by July 15 when a
summit of the Group of Eight most industrialized countries takes
place in St Petersburg, Russia. But Tehran has said it would not
respond until August 22.
Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council,
met EU foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana last
night.
"We are serious about continuing negotiations and will start
next Tuesday our talks," he told reporters upon arrival at the
meeting in Brussels.
Asked whether he had brought with him an initial answer to the
proposals, he simply said through an interpreter: "We will talk
about it on Tuesday."
Tehran and the EU will start detailed talks on Tuesday in Paris,
which are expected to be followed by consultations of the foreign
ministers of the six countries that have drawn up the package. The
Iranians are not expected to participate in the consultations on
Wednesday.
The package was designed to lure Iran to a suspension of uranium
enrichment, a crucial step in the nuclear fuel cycle to make atomic
bombs, in return for political and economic incentives and nuclear
technological assistance.
But Tehran has insisted no precondition shall be attached to the
negotiations.
Iran resumed uranium enrichment-related activities in January.
As a result, the EU suspended talks and sought to bring the issue
before the UN Security Council.
Larijani postponed his trip to Brussels by one day, reportedly
to protest the visit of an Iranian exile group leader to the
European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
Solana, who traveled to Tehran to present the package on June 6,
said Wednesday that he was surprised at the delay.
The US accuses Iran of a secret program to produce nuclear
weapons. Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes
only.
(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2006)
