U.S. TO JOIN DIRECT TALKS ON IRAN OVER IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.04.2009 13:03 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In a dramatic break from previous policy, the
United States will join direct talks between UN and European powers
and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, the State Department announced
Wednesday.
Wednesday’s announcement is the latest step by the Obama administration
to engage Iran diplomatically.
The Obama administration has asked the European Union’s international
policy chief, Javier Solana, to invite Iran to new talks with the
permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, State
Department spokesman Robert Wood said.
"If Iran accepts, we hope this will be an occasion to seriously
engage Iran of how to break the logjam of recent years and work in a
cooperative manner to resolve the outstanding international concerns
about its nuclear program," Wood said.
Prior to word from State, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s hard-line
President, said that his country "welcomes a hand extended to it."
Iran so far has refused Security Council demands to halt its production
of enriched uranium, which it has said will be used to fuel nuclear
power plants. The United States has accused Tehran of concealing
efforts to develop a nuclear bomb, and the UN’s nuclear watchdog
agency said it has failed to resolve questions about the aim of
Iranian program.
The Bush administration had insisted that Iran first stop its nuclear
program before any talks with the United States or its allies could
go forward. Wednesday’s announcement is the latest step in the Obama
administration’s efforts to engage the Islamic republic diplomatically
after nearly three decades without formal ties.
Washington, which has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since
1980, has participated in previous talks only as an observer. Wood
would not speculate about whether a meeting involving Iran and the
rest of the group might lead to direct one-on-one meetings of U.S. and
Iranian officials, CNN reports.