GERMANY: Government tells Iranian President Ahmadinejad it's time for action not words on question of exchanging low-enriched uranium

Record ID: 313838

  • Title: GERMANY: Government tells Iranian President Ahmadinejad it's time for action not words on question of exchanging low-enriched uranium
  • Date: 4th February 2010
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 3, 2010) (REUTERS) WIDE OF JADRANKA KOSOR, CROATIAN PRIME MINISTER, WITH GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL REPORTERS LISTENING REPORTER WRITING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "I can say quite simply we will measure it by the actions that actually follow. The institutions have been quite clear and Iran has to convince the IAEA that it is going to respond to offers that have been made already about uranium enrichment outside of Iran. One speech is certainly not a reliable enough basis to take further steps. We've always said that if Iran presents its suggestions to the various institutions we will evaluate them fairly." GUIDO WESTERWELLE, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, WALKS INTO ROOM WITH GROUP OF POLITICAL ELDER STATESMEN GEORGE SCHULTZ, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, WALKS INTO ROOM, FOLLOWED BY HIS PREDECESSOR HENRY KISSINGER WIDE OF STATESMEN WESTERWELLE STANDING NEXT TO KISSINGER
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: International Relations,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVADQTTT5YEN7ULZZ4FWTZVHBL5Z
  • Story Text: Germany reacted cautiously on Wednesday (February 3) to Iran's offer to send uranium abroad for enrichment as a way of ending its showdown with the West.
    In a speech on Tuesday (February 2) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is ready to send its uranium abroad for further enrichment as requested by the United Nations.
    He appeared to be saying for the first time that Iran was willing to ship out its enriched uranium and wait for it to be returned in the form of fuel for its Tehran research reactor. But his time frame of four or five months appeared to fall short of the year that Western officials say it would take for Iran's enriched fuel to be turned into fuel rods for the reactor.
    Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters at a photocall with Croatian prime minister Jadranka Kosor that the speech on its own was not enough She said: "I can say quite simply we will measure it by the actions that actually follow. The institutions have been quite clear and Iran has to convince the IAEA that it is going to respond to offers that have been made about uranium enrichment outside of Iran. One speech is certainly not a reliable enough basis to take further steps. We've always said that if Iran presents its suggestions to the various institutions we will evaluate them fairly."
    German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was similarly circumspect. Speaking after meeting a group of world political elder statesmen, he told reporters: "If Iran wants to negotiate then it has to return to honesty. It must present its suggestions, if it has any; to the delegates at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Then we can discuss the issues.
    "In the last few months and the last two years we have experienced many manoeuvres by Iran. That's why it is actions that count, not words. I think the Iranian government will agree to our terms, but if this does not happen, if this is all just tactics, then the international community will agree to take further action and in this case we couldn't rule out sanctions because it is not words that matter, but actions."
    A U.N. proposal last year envisaged Iran sending low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for further enrichment and use in a research reactor in Tehran. It was aimed at lowering international tensions between Iran and the countries negotiating over its nuclear program - the U.S., China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany.
    It was unclear how much of a concession the Ahmadinejad comments represented.
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