Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran is ready to show flexibility in nuclear talks with Western powers in order to reach an agreement acceptable to all sides, the state-run Arabic television Alalam reported Monday.
"In order to reach a comprehensive understanding in nuclear negotiations, we are flexible in the framework of the (UN) regulations," Mottaki told Alalam in Jordan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting on the Mideast.
Iran welcomes negotiations "to remove any possible ambiguities and (guarantee) non-diversion of its nuclear activities" without a precondition, he said.
"The only price we cannot pay is relinquishing the Iranian nation's right to acquire peaceful nuclear technology," Mottaki said, adding "the officials and the government are not allowed by the nation (on a compromise)."
Meanwhile, Iran's local ILNA news agency quoted Mottaki as saying that the next round of talks between Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana over Iran's nuclear issues is likely to take place in Spain within the last ten days of May.
In late April, Larijani and Solana held two rounds of talks in the Turkish capital of Ankara over Iran's uranium enrichment program. After their meetings, the two negotiators told reporters that they had made progress in their talks.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted on March 24 a new resolution with tougher sanctions to pressure Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities.
Iran has refused to heed the Security Council's demand, insisting that its nuclear programs are for peaceful purposes only.
The United States and some other Western countries have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its civilian nuclear programs.
(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2007)
