Iran calls for 'new chapter' over nuclear dispute

Fri, 03 Dec 2010

Tehran - Iran called on countries engaged in a dispute with it over its nuclear program to open "a new chapter" at next week's talks in Geneva, the official news agency IRNA reported Friday.

"Experiences of the last decade proved that ultimatums and sanctions against Iran have constantly failed," IRNA quoted Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as saying.

"Therefore, a new chapter should be opened by world powers with the aim to increase trust and cooperation through mutual respect and equality of rights," Soltanieh said.

Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful, but the international community is wary of possible military objectives and is seeking the suspension of Tehran's uranium enrichment.

Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are to meet Monday with an Iranian delegation in Geneva to resume negotiations after a 13-month break.

The bloc on the other side of the negotiating table from Iran is to be led by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and Iran is to be represented by Saaed Jalili, secretary of the National Security Council and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chief nuclear negotiator.

Soltanieh said Iran considers the return to the table to be a "good omen," but neither side is holding out much hope of a breakthrough as Ahmadinejad has ordered the Iranian delegation not to make any concessions over Iran's nuclear rights.

The Geneva meeting is being viewed as more of a testing ground to see whether such talks have the potential to be productive.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/356385,new-chapter-nuclear-dispute.html.