The foreign ministers of six nations met in?Berlin?on
Tuesday on the Iranian nuclear issue, adding pressure on Tehran
while seeking diplomacy instead of confrontation.
In the talks, the top diplomats from the United States, Germany,
China, France, Britain and Russia reached consensus on major points
of a new UN resolution on the issue.
"We are happy that we have reached consensus on major points of
the next Security Council Resolution," German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier told a press conference.
Steinmeier, who hosted the one-day meeting, said Germany, France
and Britain would submit a draft resolution to the UN Security
Council, which would then discuss it over the next few weeks.
The six-nation consensus implies more pressure on Iran for
cooperation with the international community.
Steinmeier said all parties involved were worried that a
nuclear-armed Iran "would have dramatic consequences for the Middle
East and beyond."
According to the German news agency DPA, a new UN resolution,
the third of its kind, would probably include more sanctions
against the Islamic republic unless a solution could be found.
The United States and the European Union have been seeking a
third set of UN sanctions against Iran to press it to stop uranium
enrichment activities that they fear could be used to make nuclear
weapons.
Russia and China, however, prefer peaceful means in resolving
the thorny issue.
Despite the six-nation consensus, Steinmeier did not mention
"sanctions" at the press conference, nor did his Chinese
counterpart Yang Jiechi.
The Chinese delegation told Xinhua that Yang urged relevant
parties to make more diplomatic efforts and work creatively to
break the deadlock and find a solution.
"The action taken by the UN Security Council should be helpful
to the realization of the above objectives," a Chinese diplomat
quoted Yang as saying.
"It is in the common interest of the international community to
resolve the Iran nuclear issue peacefully through diplomatic
negotiation," said?Yang.
Analysts say the US intelligence on Iran has made it difficult
to convince both Russia and China that Tehran deserves further
sanctions.
Last month, a National Intelligence Estimate said Iran abandoned
its nuclear weapons program in 2003, a conclusion that undermined
warnings by President George W. Bush about the Iranian threat.
Recent developments on the Iran nuclear issue have also
alleviated the possibility of confrontation.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear
watchdog, confirmed on January 13 that Iran had agreed to resolve
remaining questions about its secret nuclear activities within four
weeks.
Confrontation is, in fact, what the EU-3 have tried to avoid in
resolving the issue. Leaders from the three EU states have
repeatedly voiced opposition to military means.
"We are not willing to see confrontation on the issue,"
Steinmeier told reporters after talks.
?
(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2008)
