Solana: no clear answer from Iran over nuclear proposal

Solana: no clear answer from Iran over nuclear proposal

GENEVA, July 19, 2008 -- Iran has given no clear answer to a package of incentives for suspending its nuclear program, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Saturday. "We didn't get the answer to our questions," Solana said at a press conference after talks with Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in the presence of U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns and senior diplomats from China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany. "We hope very much we get the answer and we hope it will be done in a couple of weeks," he said. The package of incentives, presented last month by the five UN Security Council permanent members plus Germany, suggests that Iran get a temporary reprieve from economic and financial sanctions in exchange for freezing its enrichment activities. 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. But Solana appraised the one-day meeting as "constructive." He said they talked frankly about everything, including common points as well as differences on the nuclear issue. He also expressed belief that the issue should be resolved through cooperation instead of confrontation. Jalili also said the meeting was constructive and it enhanced the understanding of each other's views. According to the nuclear negotiator, Iran has also presented its own package of proposals on solving the nuclear issue, and that package contains "a number of opportunities that should not be lost." Jalili said Iran's package and the six powers' package has many common grounds, and the parties at the meeting had agreed to hold further talks on those common grounds. This is the first time that senior diplomats from all the six world powers join Solana in direct talks with the Iranians on the nuclear issues. "It showed a shared commitment and sincerity from the participants to solve the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic negotiations," said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi, who represented China at the meeting.