Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Friday said that a new offer to resume nuclear talks with world powers was "good news."
Iran
's
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Friday said that a new offer to resume
nuclear talks with world powers was "good news."
The European Union's foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, who represents
world powers in nuclear talks with
Iran
,
Thursday proposed a new round of meetings in
Vienna
next
month.
"From our point of view, October or November is a good time to re-establish
negotiations between
Iran
and
the 5+1," said Mottaki, referring to the
U.K.
,
China
,
France
,
Russia
, the
U.S.
and
Germany
.
"I think that is the way--organising some specific and fixed day for
starting negotiations", he said.
Mottaki, who flew in to
Brussels
for a
conference on
Pakistan
, said
the proposal to restart the stalemated talks was "good news".
"Usually the diplomats are always optimistic for any positive move
forward," he told reporters as he went into the
Pakistan
meeting.
Dialogue between
Iran
and
the six powers has been stalled since October 2009, when the two groups met in
Geneva
.
The negotiations aim to address international suspicion that
Iran
is
seeking to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear
programme, a charge
Tehran
vehemently denies.
Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign policy, suggested the talks
take place over three days in mid-November.
The EU diplomacy chief, who has come under fire from Tehran for being inactive
in efforts to resume the talks, made the offer "following recent positive
indications from Iran" that its top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, was
willing to meet, her office said Thursday.
Ashton "hopes Mr Jalili will respond positively and looks forward to
constructively engaging with
Iran
next
month", a spokesperson said.
Mottaki said last weekend that
Tehran
considered late October or early November an appropriate time for a resumption
of the talks.
But later this week
Tehran
blamed Ashton for the deadlock.
"Basically, it seems that the volume of Ms. Ashton's activity is
lower," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters
Tuesday.
"If she is really eager for negotiations, she should be more active,"
he insisted, adding that her predecessor Javier Solana was "more
active".
"We have announced our readiness for negotiations. But the other side...is
not really following up, or is not serious" about resuming the dialogue,
he said.
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