...

Iran, EU likely to discuss nuclear dossier in Switzerland

Iran Materials 7 May 2007 15:54 (UTC +04:00)

( RIA Novosti ) - Iran's top nuclear negotiator and the EU's foreign policy chief are likely to hold another round of nuclear negotiations in Switzerland, Iran's Fars news agency quoted an informed source Monday.

Ali Larijani and Javier Solana last met in Ankara for the first round of nuclear negotiations on April 25-26, when progress toward a common stance was reported.

In an interview on May 3 Larijani said he would hold the next round of negotiations with Solana in seven to eight days. "[In Ankara] we agreed to hold another meeting in two weeks," the Iranian official said. "We have not fixed a venue yet."

Larijani and Solana held their Ankara meeting for the first time since October 2006, when the EU actually recognized its failure to negotiate with Iran, which refused to stop uranium enrichment. The EU also approved the introduction of sanctions against Iran by the UN Security Council, which adopted unanimously Resolution 1737 in December 2006 and voted for tougher sanctions under Resolution 1747 on March 24, 2007.

In response Iran declared it would restrict cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until its "nuclear dossier" was transferred back from the UN Security Council to the IAEA.

On April 9 Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country had launched industrial production of uranium.

The 60-day deadline the UN Security Council set for Iran to implement the resolution's provisions expires in late May. The UN Security Council will hold another meeting to adopt further steps on the Islamic republic later.

Latest

Latest