Six leading world powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – have agreed to hold direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program, the first since US President Barack Obama took office in January. The European Union’s chief diplomat Javier Solana said on Tuesday that he expected to "achieve the most" at meeting on 1 October because the United States would formally participate for the first time in the nuclear talks."I think that has to be evaluated positively by the Iranians," he told reporters in Brussels. "I think the meeting will very likely be in Turkey," Solana said.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said it was “much too early” to impose new sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program. He called next month’s meeting “a small positive step.”
The talks will be the first since a 2008 session in Geneva foundered over Iran's refusal to discuss enrichment. In Washington, the State Department said Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, who was at last year's Geneva talks as an observer, would again represent the United States.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said it was “much too early” to impose new sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program. He called next month’s meeting “a small positive step.”
The talks will be the first since a 2008 session in Geneva foundered over Iran's refusal to discuss enrichment. In Washington, the State Department said Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, who was at last year's Geneva talks as an observer, would again represent the United States.
