30 March 2006
Berlin Foreign Ministers' Meeting Produces Strong Words for Iran
Foreign ministers urge Iran to comply with IAEA demands within 30 days
By David Shelby
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – Foreign ministry representatives from the five permanent member countries of the U.N. Security Council and the German foreign minister had strong words for Iran following a March 30 meeting in Berlin to discuss their next steps in confronting the Iranian nuclear issue.
While agreeing that there are acceptable ways in which Iran can pursue a civilian nuclear energy program, the ministers were unanimous in calling for Iran to heed the legitimate concerns of the international community.
Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo characterized the Iranian nuclear issue as “among the most difficult and complicated problems in our world today. This requires time, persistence, and wisdom.”
The meeting came only one day after the U.N. Security Council issued a presidential statement calling on Iran to halt its nuclear enrichment and asking the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to report on Iran’s compliance in 30 days. (See related article.)
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who hosted the gathering, said, “[W]hat is at stake here is that Iran has to restore the confidence and trust of the international community in the exclusively peaceful character and nature of its nuclear program.”
He said Iran now faces a choice. “[T]he presidential statement makes it very clear that we expect a decision from Iran within the next 30 days. Now, what choice does Iran have? Iran has to make a choice between isolation brought about through actions of its own and through continuation of enrichment activities on its own soil in violation of the commitments of the international community or a return to the negotiating table,” he said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the gathering in Berlin sends a strong signal to Iran that the international community is united in its demand “that [Iran’s] nuclear activities be demonstrably for civilian purposes.” She added that there are acceptable ways for Iran to develop a civilian nuclear program.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw echoed Rice’s sentiment that civil nuclear power is not at issue. “[N]obody in the international community is trying to deny Iran its right to generate electricity by nuclear energy. That has never been the issue. The issue is whether Iran is also trying to use a huge and extravagant fuel cycle of enrichment and reprocessing of uranium to build a nuclear weapons capability,” he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the entire international community has “very legitimate concerns” about Iran’s intentions and called on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA, which he said is the only body capable of verifying the nature of Iran’s program.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy underscored the demand that Iran suspend all nuclear activities including research and development and allow the IAEA to monitor its activities.
The five permanent members of the Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – have been in intense negotiations about how to confront Iran’s nuclear ambitions since the IAEA referred the issue to the council March 8. (See related article.)
Germany has participated in the discussions as a member of the EU-3, a group of European countries that has sought to engage Tehran in direct negotiations over its nuclear program for the past two and a half years. Those discussions collapsed after Iran resumed uranium enrichment activities in January, sparking the IAEA decision to refer the matter to the Security Council.
Together, the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany are known as the “P5 + 1.”
A transcript of the foreign ministers’ press availability is available on the State Department Web site.
For additional information, see Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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