|
Talk of sanctions on Iran 'premature': France
"The question of sanctions is premature," foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said. Instead it was necessary to "proceed step by step" after Thursday's meeting of the French, German and British foreign ministers in Berlin. The European group of three called for an extraordinary meeting of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refer Iran to the UN Security Council. Paris would "continue consultations" with Russia, China and its European partners on the issue, the spokesman said. Officials from the European Union, United States, China and Russia will meet over the Iran nuclear crisis in London on Monday, a European diplomat said Friday in Vienna. They are expected to decide when to hold the extraordinary meeting of the IAEA board of directors, according to the diplomat. Iran's standoff with the international community escalated Tuesday after it resumed sensitive nuclear research linked to uranium enrichment, which produces fuel for nuclear power reactors but can also be used to make atomic bombs. On Wednesday Tehran warned that reference of its programme to the UN Security Council could force it to cut off contact with the EU group of three, who have been leading negotiations over Iran's atomic programme since 2004. "If the dossier is sent to the Security Council, the European countries will lose the means which are currently at their disposal, because... the government will be obliged, in conformity with the law adopted by parliament, to end all its voluntary measures of cooperation," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said consensus was growing among the international community for action but that the military option was not being considered.
"I think in current circumstances it would not be conceivable, it would not be appropriate," he said. "Iran is not Iraq, we're working with the international community to resolve this in a peaceful and diplomatic manner."
Posted by: lotp 2006-01-14 |
|||
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=139796 |