Translated material
Nuclear bargaining
EU and Iran exchange terms
Today in Brussels, foreign ministers of EU member countries will try to find incentives that can convince Tehran to abandon nuclear development. The Europeans can provide Iran with energy resources and even recognize its theoretical right to a peaceful atom. If Tehran rejects these proposals, “punitive measures” cannot be ruled out.The European Union must decide on the Iranian issue by Friday, when consultations of “political directors” - deputy heads of foreign affairs agencies of the United States, China, Russia, Great Britain, France and Germany - resume in London. Our country will traditionally be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak.
Iran has its own demands for the “six,” which have already been voiced by the head of Iranian diplomacy, Manouchehr Mottaki. According to him, any proposals to Tehran must “confirm with concrete steps the recognition of Iran’s rights to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.”
Yesterday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirmed Tehran's readiness to discuss its nuclear program with all countries except Israel. He also called “senseless” any initiatives developed without the participation of Iranian representatives, and reiterated that his country “will never succumb to outside pressure, whether someone likes it or not.” At the same time, the president highly praised cooperation with Russia and reported “Iran’s interest in its expansion.”
Yesterday, Mr. Ahmadinejad denied reports that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors had allegedly discovered traces of highly enriched uranium, necessary to create an atomic bomb, at a nuclear facility near Lavizan. Representatives of the IAEA refused to comment on this news, which was circulated by the Associated Press with reference to an anonymous diplomatic source in Vienna. They did not report when the traces were discovered or the degree of enrichment of the uranium present in them.