Sanctions may not have closed the door for talks over Iran's nuclear program, but the ball is now in Tehran's court to allay international fears, Brazil's foreign minister said here Wednesday.
Sanctions may not have closed the door for talks over Iran's nuclear
program, but the ball is now in Tehran's court to allay international fears,
Brazil's foreign minister said here Wednesday.
During a two-day visit to Sofia, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said he was
aware that "there were concerns expressed by the Vienna Group"--the
U.S., France and Russia--over a May 17 fuel swap deal between Iran, Brazil and
Turkey.
"I think now it is up to
Iran
to
react to these," he told journalists.
Iran
's
tripartite deal to exchange 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of its low-enriched
uranium for higher grade fuel was cold-shouldered by world powers with the
United Nations, the European Union and
U.S.
slapping new sets of sanctions on
Tehran
.
"My frank opinion is that sanctions do not help. But I am encouraged by
the fact that
Iran
has
had so far a rather flexible response," Amorim added.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov meanwhile noted that "it is
most important at the moment not to take the decision by the U.N. Security
Council for additional sanctions as closing the door for negotiations and talks
with Iran."
"I hope the Iranian authorities will be ready to sit at the table for an
open dialogue on all issues concerning their nuclear program with the Vienna
Group and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to find a solution to
this situation," he said.
"I agree that maybe the sanctions do not close the door (to talks), I hope
that this is the case. But I think that the rush to sanctions was a bit
disappointing from our point of view," Amorim said.
He appeared encouraged that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was willing to
continue negotiations with
Iran
,
based on the
Brazil
and
Turkey
proposal, and he praised the "positive mood" in
Iran
's
general response to that proposal.
"I think this is a good development."
Amorim added: "We have felt especially on the part of one of the members
of the so-called Vienna Group, the willingness and the desire to have a
continued engagement by Turkey and Brazil."
"And if this is also the desire of Iran, which I think it is, but also of
the other two (Vienna Group members) we will be more than glad to help,"
he said.
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