Iran and the European Union's chief negotiators agreed Saturday to resume talks on suspending uranium enrichment in two weeks, after Tehran ruled out freezing its program in talks that included the United States for the first time. According to the AP, EU envoy Javier Solana told reporters after the Geneva meeting with Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili that the two would speak either by telephone or personally.
"The meeting was constructive, but we didn't get still the answer we were looking for," Solana said.
Jalili asked that Western powers not turn away from negotiations. "Iran is calling on the Western powers to resume the dialogue," he said. U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns was also present, but did not speak publicly.
Shortly after the talks commenced, Keyvan Imani, a member of the Iranian delegation, indicated that Iran was not prepared to budge on enrichment. "Suspension — there is no chance for that," he told reporters gathered in the courtyard of Geneva's ornate City Hall, the venue of the negotiations.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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