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NAM troika calls on Europeans to response positively to Iran's offer

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Nov 12, IRNA
Iran-NAM-Statement
Foreign ministers of three Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries (the Troika) here Friday called on the European side to act positively on Iran's initiative for resumption of nuclear talks.

Iran's secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Larijani, in a letter to foreign ministers of the European Union's Big 3 (France, Britain, and Germany) on November 6, 2005 expressed Iran's readiness to resume nuclear talks with the European side.

In a nine-article statement issued at the end of their two-day meeting with Iranian officials, the NAM troika praised Iran's continuing cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) aimed at resolving the nuclear issue.

According to the statement, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and the South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Larijani on the Iran nuclear issue and the issue of disarmament by nuclear powers.

The NAM delegation also met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

It said the meetings took place within the framework of continuing consultations among NAM member states.

In the statement, members of the troika once again stressed their principled stance on the threat posed to humanity by weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), particularly nukes.

The statement urged nuclear countries to remain committed to their obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and act to reduce or completely dismantle their nuclear arsenals which could lead to a nuclear war.

The NAM troika, in the statement, repeatedly affirmed the principled and indisputable right of all NPT signatories to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and with due regard for NPT safeguard requirements.

They said countries such as Iran should be respected in their decisions to access nuclear technology and complete the fuel cycle.

The NAM delegation welcomed measures adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to clarify issues on Iran's peaceful nuclear program and believed this issue should be settled within the confines of the IAEA.

It also welcomed Iran's cooperation with the agency to settle remaining issues, saying the Islamic Republic voluntarily adopted certain measures such as implementation of the Additional Protocol to the NPT to build confidence on its nuclear activities.

The troika praised the initiative presented by Iran's President Ahmadinejad at the UN General Assembly's 60th Summit in September calling on other countries' public and private sectors to participate in Iran's uranium enrichment program and related activities.

The statement said the NAM delegation and Iranian officials held a valuable exchange of views, the delegation promising to hold necessary consultations with other NAM member states and other countries to spur a resumption of negotiations.

2327/2321/1414