December 1, 2007
As Talks With Europe End, Iran Gives No Sign of Concession on Nuclear Program
By JOHN F. BURNS
LONDON, Nov. 30 — Negotiators for Iran and the European Union held a new round of talks on Iran’s uranium-enrichment program on Friday, but the meeting ended with indications that the Iranians had offered no new concessions to ease Western concerns that Iran plans to develop nuclear weapons.
After 18 months of largely unproductive talks between the Europeans and the Iranians, the London meeting was billed as a last-ditch attempt to persuade Iran to compromise before a meeting of a six-nation group, including the United States. The group, which will assemble on Saturday in Paris, has threatened to toughen United Nations sanctions against the Iranian government over the nuclear issue.
“I have to admit that after five hours of meetings, I expected more, and therefore I am disappointed,” said Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, as the talks broke up. He said that the two sides would remain “in telephone contact” and that “only if circumstances permit” would there be any more talks between the Europeans and the Iranians before the end of the year.
The Iranian negotiator, Saeed Jalili, struck a more upbeat note, however, when he spoke separately to reporters. Mr. Jalili said the talks had been “good,” adding, “We agreed to continue our negotiations, and we agreed to a meeting next month.”
The seeming failure in London shifts the focus to the six nations who will meet Saturday in Paris, the five United Nations Security Council members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — and Germany. The group met in London in September and agreed to consider new sanctions if there was no progress in halting Iran’s enrichment program by December. The Security Council has passed two sanctions resolutions against Iran.
A Western diplomat in London who has been monitoring IranÂ’s talks with the Europeans said after FridayÂ’s meeting that Mr. SolanaÂ’s statement suggested that the European negotiator had concluded that Iran had decided to stall in the talks and to rely on China and Russia, each with close ties to its government, to protect it against new sanctions.
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