US State Secy sees ‘diplomatic path’ on Iran nuclear issue
28 Feb 2013 5:10 AM IST
US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted there was a ‘diplomatic path’ to be forged with Iran on its disputed nuclear programme, as world powers and Tehran held crunch talks.
‘There is a diplomatic path,’ said Kerry after meeting his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in Berlin. He expressed his ‘hope’ that ‘Iran itself will make its choice to move down the path of a diplomatic solution.’
The five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany – the so-called P5+1 – are meeting the Iranian team headed by top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Kazakhstan in a bid to break the deadlock over Iran’s programme.
Kerry said it ‘would really be a mistake in the middle of the talks for me to try to talk at any length about what the dynamics of those talks are.’ ‘I want these talks to have their chance to work through before I comment,’ added the secretary.
Nevertheless, he urged Tehran to accept the offer of western powers, saying they included ‘reciprocal measures that encourage Iran to make concrete steps in order to begin addressing the international community’s concerns.’
The world powers are offering Iran permission to resume its gold and precious metals trade as well as some international banking activity which are currently under sanctions, Western officials said. But in exchange, Iran will have to limit sensitive uranium enrichment operations that the world powers fear could be used to make a nuclear bomb, the sources added. The two-day meeting in Almaty comes as sanctions bite against the Islamic republic and Israel still refuses to rule out air strikes to knock out Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons drive.
‘There is a diplomatic path,’ said Kerry after meeting his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in Berlin. He expressed his ‘hope’ that ‘Iran itself will make its choice to move down the path of a diplomatic solution.’
The five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany – the so-called P5+1 – are meeting the Iranian team headed by top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Kazakhstan in a bid to break the deadlock over Iran’s programme.
Kerry said it ‘would really be a mistake in the middle of the talks for me to try to talk at any length about what the dynamics of those talks are.’ ‘I want these talks to have their chance to work through before I comment,’ added the secretary.
Nevertheless, he urged Tehran to accept the offer of western powers, saying they included ‘reciprocal measures that encourage Iran to make concrete steps in order to begin addressing the international community’s concerns.’
The world powers are offering Iran permission to resume its gold and precious metals trade as well as some international banking activity which are currently under sanctions, Western officials said. But in exchange, Iran will have to limit sensitive uranium enrichment operations that the world powers fear could be used to make a nuclear bomb, the sources added. The two-day meeting in Almaty comes as sanctions bite against the Islamic republic and Israel still refuses to rule out air strikes to knock out Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons drive.
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