World powers seek N talks with Iran

Foreign ministers of the major world powers have announced that they seek an “early negotiated solution” to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program.

“Our objective continues to be a comprehensive long-term negotiated solution which restores international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” said the statement released by the P5+1 — China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US — on Wednesday.

“We reaffirmed our determination and commitment to seek an early negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and focused our discussion on further practical steps to achieve it at an early date,” AFP cited the statement.

According to the statement, which was read by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, the P5+1 is “ready to engage with Iran” in the context of the fuel swap deal proposed in Geneva in October 2009.

During negotiations in Geneva, the Vienna Group — France, Russia, the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency — offered to ship most of Iran’s low-enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for reactor fuel from Russia and France.

The Western refusal to offer Tehran objective guarantees in the fuel swap proposal, led to Iran issuing a nuclear declaration with Turkey and Brazil on May 17 to ease Western concerns.

Under the declaration, Iran agreed to ship most of its low enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel.

The US and its allies, however, snubbed the declaration and used their influence on the UN Security Council to press for the imposition of fresh sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iran has criticized the UNSC sanctions arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and an IAEA member it has the right to pursue and benefit from nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Tehran announced readiness to resume talks on its nuclear program in September, but stated that any negotiation must be conducted within the framework of the May 17 declaration.

“We look forward to Iran’s positive and constructive participation in this dialogue,” the P5+1 statement said.