By DPA,
New York : The world’s major powers have agreed on a resolution over Iran’s nuclear programme that will be presented to the UN Security Council.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters the resolution would “reaffirm” existing sanctions that have been placed on Iran over Tehran’s refusal to comply with Security Council demands to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to build nuclear weapons.
There will be no new round of sanctions on Iran, something the United States, France and Britain had been pushing for this week, Miliband said. “Extensive discussions are still going on over future steps.”
The move would demonstrate the unity of the international community, he said.
The agreement of the UN Security Council’s five permanent members – US, Russia, China, France, Britain – plus Germany came after an earlier scheduled ministerial gathering to discuss sanctions had been cancelled.
Russia had pulled out of the earlier foreign ministers’ meeting slated for Wednesday on the sidelines of an annual United Nations summit of world leaders. The US also said it agreed that more time was needed.
Western countries suspect Iran is seeking the capability to develop nuclear weapons, while Tehran maintains its programme is solely for producing peaceful nuclear energy.