Agence France Presse reported that attempts to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear programme have made “insufficient” progress, the EU’s diplomatic chief Javier Solana said Saturday following high-level talks in Geneva.
“There is always progress in these talks, but insufficient,” and the international community was still waiting for Iran’s response to a proposed package of incentives for Tehran to give up its nuclear programme, he said.
“It was a constructive meeting, but still we didn’t get the answer to our questions,” said Solana.
“We refrain from Security Council resolutions and (call) for Iran to refrain from nuclear activity including the installations of new centrifuges” for processing uranium, he said after the talks.
“We are looking forward to an answer from Iran in this question… in a couple of weeks.”
According to Reuters Iranian officials ruled out any freeze in uranium enrichment on Saturday at the start of talks over Tehran’s nuclear program attended for the first time by a senior U.S. diplomat.
“Any kind of suspension or freeze is out of the question,” an Iranian official told Reuters, rejecting the main condition set by the United States and other major powers for formal negotiations to end the long-running dispute.
Iran’s ambassador to Switzerland said Iran would not accept freezing enrichment. “It is not in Iran’s agenda to discuss this issue,” Keyvan Imani told reporters.
“As our supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ) clearly said, our path is very clear: We are not going to abandon our rights.”
The U.N. has imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran in a stand-off that goes back to the revelation in 2002 by an exiled Opposition group of the existence of a uranium enrichment facility and heavy water plant in the country.