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Iran warns G8 on nuke issue
09/07/2006 15:33 - (SA)
Tehran - Iran warned the Group of Eight on Sunday against making any decisions on Iran's nuclear programme without consulting it first, arguing that this could harm Tehran's talks with the European Union.
"Any (G8) summit decision on Iran - if premature and incomplete - could harm the current positive trend of negotiations," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, referring to Iranian-EU talks about the incentives package offered to Iran to end the impasse over its nuclear programme.
"The G8 summit won't be comprehensive without Iran's participation and opinion," Mottaki said of the gathering by the leaders of the world's largest economies that is scheduled to open on Saturday in St Petersburg, Russia.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's top nuclear envoy Ali Larijani held an informal meeting in Brussels last week. A formal meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
On Sunday, Mottaki reiterated that Iran would give a formal response to the offer by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany in August. He hinted that Tehran planned to negotiate some aspects of the package first.
The Big Five plus Germany want Iran to respond to the incentives before the G8 summit.
The US and some of its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear programme as a cover to build atomic weapons. Tehran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear programme is geared merely toward generating electricity.
Although details of the new offer have not been made public, diplomats have said it includes economic incentives and a provision for the United States to offer Iran some nuclear technology, lift some sanctions and join direct negotiations.
- Dow Jones
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