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'No clear answer' after Iran nuclear talks

19/07/2008

Multilateral talks over Iran's controversial nuclear programme have revealed "no clear answer", according to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

The US was represented in the Geneva meeting by its third most senior diplomat William Burns, who discussed Iran's uranium enrichment with Iranian senior nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and Mr Solano.

The US undersecretary of state's presence was highly significant, with the Bush administration previously requiring a complete suspension of nuclear activities as a precursor to any talks.

However, talks proved to be anticlimactic, with Tehran giving no response to a host of incentives and levelled financial sanctions against the country to persuade it to stop enriching uranium.

"It was a constructive meeting, but still we didn't get the answer to our questions," Mr Solana told reporters.

"We hope very much we get the answer and we hope it will be done in a couple of weeks," he said.

According to Mr Jalili told the BBC Iran is open to compromise and urged Western powers to persevere with the talks.

"This package we have proposed contains a number of possibilities. In a nutshell, it is a new opportunity which should not be lost," he explained.

Washington has had no formal ties with Iran since the 1980 Islamic revolution and the storming of its embassy.

Western powers accuse Iran of using its nuclear programme to develop weapons, while Iran has continually insisted its programme is entirely peaceful and solely for civilian energy purposes.

This week Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the talks could represent a thawing in relations between Tehran and Washington.

"The new negotiation process is positive and the procedure is good. It signals good developments for the future. I hope this goodness in the process is also reflected in the content," Mr Mottaki said.