Tehran, July 20 (IANS) Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad Sunday said the Geneva talks over his country’s nuclear issue were a step forward, IRNA reported.
“Any negotiations can be viewed as a step forward. Saturday’s negotiation can be regarded as one of such forward-moving talks,” the president told reporters.
The talks Saturday between Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Geneva over a package of incentives offered to Tehran in exchange of its suspension of uranium enrichment had ended in a stalemate over Tehran’s refusal to stop enrichment.
Besides the five veto powers – China, France, Russia, the United States, Britain, and Germany, the meeting was also attended by US Under Secretary of State William Burns – the first time in three decades a US high ranking diplomat participated in meeting with Iran after Washington severed ties with the country in 1980.
Solana said after the Geneva talks that the six world powers were expecting a clear answer from Tehran in about two weeks to their offer of trade and technical incentives in return of suspension of uranium enrichment.
The next round of talks is likely to resume next week, Jalili had told reporters Saturday.