BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's foreign policy chief is willing to meet Iran's chief negotiator soon, after Tehran replied to a package of incentives from major powers for it to curb its nuclear program, an EU spokeswoman said on Saturday.
She said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana held first telephone consultations on Saturday on Iran's written response to proposals he delivered to Tehran last month on behalf of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
"One of the things to decide is to meet (Iranian national security chief Saeed) Jalili, and if so when. In principle, the position is to respond favorably," Solana's spokeswoman, Cristina Gallach, told Reuters.
She said Jalili had requested such a meeting in a telephone call with Solana on Friday in which he stressed "common ground".
Gallach declined to give details of the content of the Iranian reply, saying the major powers were still studying the four-page letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and holding consultations.
The U.N. Security Council has imposed three rounds of mild sanctions on Iran over its refusal to comply with international demands to suspend the enrichment of nuclear fuel, which the West suspects its aimed at developing weapons.
The Islamic Republic insists its program is purely for civilian energy purposes and has said it will never give up what it regards as its legal right to enrichment.
It was not clear whether Mottaki's letter addressed Solana's proposal for a six-week preliminary phase of talks in which Tehran would stop adding new centrifuges to its uranium enrichment program, while the six powers would undertake not to make any new moves on sanctions.
The major powers have said they will only enter formal negotiations on the package of economic, technological and political incentives if Iran suspends all uranium enrichment. Continued...
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki wrote a response to the incentives proposal. 



Iran said today that the policies regarding its nuclear program have not changed, despite a proposal made by world powers last month that the country suspend uranium enrichment in exchange for economic and political incentives.

Government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham delivered the remarks. "Iran's stand regarding its peaceful nuclear program has not changed. Iran insists on negotiations while respecting its rights and avoiding any loss of international rights," Elham said. He indicated that Iran "will continue with the path determined by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei."

His statement came a day after Iran officially responded to the incentives package, which was offered by the foreign ministers of the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, France, and Germany, as well as European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. They had called for formal negotiations to be held "as soon as Iran's enrichment-related and reprocessing activities are suspended."

The proposal also included a preliminary negotiations phase, in which the world powers would not pursue any further sanctions against Iran if the nation does not manufacture or install uranium-enriching centrifuges for six weeks.

Iran's response, a letter written by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, has not been made public. However, officials involved in the diplomacy have discussed some of its contents. They say the letter failed to address their proposal, and that it criticized the way diplomacy has been conducted, including the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. "The time for negotiating from the condescending position of inequality has come to an end," the letter said, according to the anonymous officials.

Nevertheless, the letter says Iran is willing to begin negotiating with Javier Solana and the other countries who made the offer. Solana is also willing to negotiate, according to his spokesman, Cristina Gallach. She said Iranian security chief Saeed Jalili had requested a meeting in a telephone call. "One of the things to decide is to meet Jalili, and if so when," Gallach said.