The foreign ministers meeting of the five permanent UN Security
Council members (China, France, Britain, Russia and the US) and
Germany agreed in Paris yesterday to return Iran's nuclear issue to
the UN Security Council.
"We have no choice but to return to the UN Security Council and
take forward the process that was suspended two months ago," French
Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said.
"We have agreed to seek a United Nations Security Council
resolution, which would make the IAEA-required suspension
mandatory," Douste-Blazy said.
"Should Iran refuse to comply then we will work for the adoption
of measures under Article 41 of Chapter Seven of the UN Charter,"
which opens the way for economic and diplomatic sanctions, but not
for the use of military force.
"The Iranians have given no indication at all that they are
ready to engage seriously on the substance of our proposals," he
said in a declaration to journalists after the talks.
The Paris foreign ministers meeting gathered Douste-Blazy, his
British counterpart Margaret Beckett, Germany's Frank-Walter
Steinmeier, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang
Yesui.
The six countries met on June 6 in Teheran to offer a
technological and commercial cooperation proposal to Iran to try to
persuade Teheran to suspend uranium enrichment activities.
Iran refused again on Tuesday to commit itself to the suspension
of uranium enrichment, which can lead to atomic weapon
fabrication.
"Should Iran implement the decisions of the IAEA and the UN
Security Council, and enter into negotiations, we would be ready to
hold back from further action in the UN Security Council," the
French minister said.
"We urge Iran once again to respond positively to the
substantive proposals we made last month," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2006)
