SWITZERLAND: American Ambassador to the IAEA warned that decisions are needed from Iran, and not lengthy letters, for serious negotiations to take place

Record ID: 872554

  • Title: SWITZERLAND: American Ambassador to the IAEA warned that decisions are needed from Iran, and not lengthy letters, for serious negotiations to take place
  • Date: 10th May 2006
  • Summary: (EU) GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MAY 09, 2006) (REUTERS) U.S. PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS (U.N.) IN VIENNA AND INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA) GREGORY SCHULTE ENTERING THE CONFERENCE ROOM PLAQUE OF THE GENEVA CENTRE FOR SECURITY POLICY (GCSP) GREGORY SCHULTE SITTING DOWN
  • Embargoed: 25th May 2006 13:00
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  • Location: Switzerland
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  • Country: Switzerland
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  • Reuters ID: LVA9E2T59WLWKU9W111NERVE40VF
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  • Story Text: American Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Gregory Schulte warned on Tuesday (May 9) that decisions are needed from Iran, and not lengthy letters in order to begin serious negotiations.
    "We don't need lengthy letters from the Iranian President. What we need are decisions on his part and on the part of the leadership in Iran to negotiate seriously and take up diplomatic offers on the table from the EU3 and Russia," said Schulte in a news conference.
    Since Iran has refused to back down on what it calls its right to produce fuel for nuclear power plants, negotiations seemed blocked between Iran and the major powers of the United Nations Security Council.
    Ministers from the five permanent U.N. Security Council members - United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - plus Germany met on Monday (May 8), in an attempt to put together a draft resolution that would legally oblige Iran to halt uranium enrichment.
    In the meantime, an unprecedented letter sent by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday (may 8) briefly raised hopes it could include proposals to end the standoff.
    But the letter, the first from an Iranian head of state to a U.S. president since Washington severed ties after the 1979 Islamic revolution, instead focused on alleged U.S. wrong doings.
    Past talks have failed because Iran has always demanded to keep some enrichment at home, something Western states completely rule out.
    The United States has refused to rule out military action even though it says it wants a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
    "Sanctions may come into play in the next several months if Iran fails to heed these mandatory requirements and fails to take advantage of the diplomatic opportunities that are available," Gregory Schulte said.
    Asked whether the White House was, by maintaining the military option - including the use of tactical nuclear weapons, not driving Iran into further isolation, he added, "Sometimes I'm just a little bit concerned that the only person in the world who wants a military option is the current president of Iran who maybe thinks that would help him solidify his grip on power."
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