EU lawmaker backs Tehran declaration

European Parliament Vice Speaker Giovanni Pittella has termed Tehran’s recent nuclear fuel swap declaration as a positive step in the country’s nuclear case.

In a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Brussels on Tuesday, Pittella said that negotiation is still the only solution to Iran’s nuclear case, Fars News Agency reported.

Mottaki, for his part, told the European parliamentarians that the Tehran declaration is a step forward and expressed hope that the initiative would receive a positive response from the West.

The two sides also condemned attacks by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound Flotilla aid convoy and called for an investigation by international teams into Israel’s crimes.

Mottaki, heading a high-ranking delegation to Brussels, has met with several Belgian and European Parliament’s officials, including the country’s Deputy Prime Minister (and Foreign Minister) Steven Vanackere and the leader of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament Martin Schulz.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast and Deputy Foreign Minister for Europe Ali Ahani accompany Mottaki on his tour in Brussels.

Mottaki met with Japanese diplomats in Tokyo on Monday and is scheduled to fly to Luxembourg on Thursday.