United Nations, June 30, (IANS) Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here that Iran will table its response to the P5+1 package of incentives in August.
'The response will not be sooner than August. I said Iran will offer its response in August, but did not refer to the date,' said Mottaki Thursday at a press conference, the IRNA news agency reported.
Iran's top diplomat said specialised committees are studying different sections of the incentive package offered by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - US, Britain, France, Russia, China - and Germany. He said once the investigation results are out, Tehran would give a necessary response.
Mottaki said: 'It is necessary to say that the response to the package in August would be possible, if questions and ambiguities are cleared.'
He added that there were some questions and ambiguities concerning details of the package, which Tehran hopes would be addressed in dialogues.
The minister later said that Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and the EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana would possibly meet in the first half of July.
Mottaki pointed to Iran's positive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for a period of 36 years and said it indicates that Tehran has been sticking to its commitments.
'After more than 2,100-man/day inspections, a document in more than 1,000 pages on Iran's peaceful nuclear activities was sent to the IAEA, indicating not a single case of diversion,' said Mottaki.
He said Iran is entitled to peaceful nuclear energy as per the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
'Preventing countries' access to uranium enrichment runs against NPT. Confidence-building is a two-way road and we have taken steps towards confidence-building and now its the turn of the other party to take necessary steps.'
He stressed that Iran has been acting transparently with regards to nuclear technology, and has continued cooperation with IAEA.
'Suspension of enrichment is a request running against the NPT spirit,' he remarked.
© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service |