EU Renews Offer to Iran on Nuke Talks

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

EU Renews Offer to Iran on Nuke Talks
European Union, Iranian Negotiators Try to Find Common Ground
on Tehran's Nuclear Ambitions

By GEORGE JAHN

VIENNA, Austria Mar 27, 2007 (AP)— A top European envoy on Monday
renewed an offer from six world powers to talk with Tehran over its
nuclear ambitions, and a senior Iranian negotiator agreed to stay in
contact in an effort to find common ground.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana's telephone
conversation with Ali Larijani, Tehran's top nuclear negotiator,
was the first exchange between the representatives of Iran and the
international community since the U.N. Security Council toughened
its anti-Iran sanctions because of the Islamic republic's refusal to
freeze uranium enrichment.

Solana spokeswoman Cristina Gallach emphasized it was not a
negotiating session but more a message to the Iranian side that
the international community was interested in "renewing … talks
and solving in a negotiated matter" differences separating the
sides.

The conversation, which Gallach said lasted nearly an hour, came
amid signs of impatience from Russia and China, Iran's traditional
allies among the five permanent Security Council members.

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