Stress on talks to resolve Iran stalemate

Munich: About 300 top security experts and defence officials discussed Iran and Afghanistan at the 46th Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

China and Iran were represented by their foreign ministers, seen by many observers as an attempt to reduce international pressure on Iran. But most of the discussions were focused on telling Iran what it must do to reduce international pressure.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Iran's nuclear programme was unacceptable as such development would lead to destabilisation beyond the region and might lead to the collapse of the Non Proliferation Treaty.

"Europe has supported the cooperation approach with Iran, but unfortunately we have not noted an encouraging response from Iran yet. We are not sure how the issue will develop in the future. We will always support the Iranians' right to enjoy peaceful use of nuclear energy, but not for nuclear armament," he said.

"Iran nuclear programme is not an internal or regional matter; it is an international issue."

US National Security Advisor James Jones reiterated the US President's promise of the beginning of a new era of multilateral relations with Europe and the rest of the world.

Jones felt that Afghanistan policies are working better these days. "We should not allow Al Qaida to migrate from Afghanistan to Somalia and Sudan. We should work with Yemen to strengthen its position in fighting the terrorist group," he said.

China, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, continues to resist talk of sanctions.

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told participants at the Munich Forum that China believed patience and further diplomatic efforts were called for.

European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton welcomed Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and called on his country to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposal of enrichment with no delays.

Sources from the German delegation told Gulf News that Germany and the EU believe that the Iranian president's offer to enrich uranium outside Iran, which he slipped in one short sentence in his speech two days ago, was not considered as a solution to the stalemate in the Iranian nuclear issue.

"Iran knows very well what they have to do and should act in the right channel before the situation complicates further," the source who spoke on condition of anonymity stressed.