Only formal compromise on Iran's nuclear program from G8 - Summary

Ottawa - The foreign ministers of the Group of Eight (G8) countries could only agree on a formal compromise regarding future moves on Iran's controversial nuclear program.

In a joint statement issued Tuesday after the meeting of the leading industrialized economies in Gatineau, Ontario, the ministers said that an Iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable.

Russia reportedly refused to accept a harder stance against Tehran.

The United States has long led calls for tougher sanctions against Iran for enriching uranium, allegedly for the construction of nuclear weapons. Tehran claims that its nuclear program seeks peaceful ends only.

Iran was the main topic of discussion, but the meeting also saw debates Monday on developments in Afghanistan and on the bombings in the Moscow underground.

For hours, it was not even clear whether G8 ministers would issue a joint declaration on Iran at all, amid calls for "a signal from the international community."

"Nobody in the world has an interest in seeing one state after another violate the Non-Proliferation Treaty, acquire nuclear weapons and thus bring into the world unforeseeable security risks," said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

"On the issue of nuclear non-proliferation, we must speak with one voice in the world, and not only in the direction of Iran," Westerwelle noted.

The ministers also discussed disarmament more broadly, and said they will make every effort to ensure the success of the review conference on the Non-Proliferation Treaty to be held in New York in May.

Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, told the German Press Agency dpa that the IAEA was in a position to monitor nuclear disarmament.

The Vienna-based organization has the means and the expertise to do that, Amano said.

Specifically on Iran, Amano said new sanctions would make the job harder in the short term for those monitoring nuclear facilities there. He would not estimate longer-term consequences.

Canada is this year's president of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations - the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Canada and Russia.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/316499,only-formal-compromise-on-irans-nuclear-programme-from-g8--summary.html.