NYT : European Union in Last-Ditch Talks With Iran on Nuclear Plans

European Union in Last-Ditch Talks With Iran on Nuclear Plans

By JUDY DEMPSEY | September 10, 2006

BERLIN, Sept. 9 — Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief and Ali Larijani, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, said Saturday that they would continue last-ditch negotiations on Sunday in Vienna to see how far Iran would go to meet United Nations Security Council demand that it freeze its uranium-enrichment program or risk sanctions.

Christina Gallach, Mr. Solana’s spokeswoman, told reporters that the three hours of talks on Saturday had been “positive and constructive.’’ Mr. Larijani said, “We had some good and constructive talks, we made some progress in some areas, and we shall continue tomorrow.”

Diplomatic pressure on Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium has increased in recent weeks. Iran says its nuclear program is designed to generate electricity, but the United States and Europe suspect the program is meant to develop nuclear weapons.

R. Nicholas Burns, the American under secretary of state for political affairs, said Friday in Berlin that the United States hoped to begin talks next week to fashion a resolution that would seek sanctions against Iran if it did not halt its enrichment of uranium.

Mr. Burns was speaking after extensive talks with the other four permanent members of the Security Council — Russia, France, China, Britain — as well as with Germany. Talks were held separately with Canada, Italy and Japan.

He said the talks with the Europeans, Russia and China would continue Monday and would focus on the possibility of drawing up a draft on sanctions before the General Assembly convened the following week.

But Russia and China have made it clear that they will oppose sanctions, and on Saturday, the Chinese prime minister, Wen Jaibao, warned against stepping up pressure on Iran.

“To mount pressure or to take sanctions will not necessarily bring about a peaceful solution,” he told a news conference in Helsinki, Finland, after a meeting with European Union officials. He added that resolving the nuclear dispute peacefully would take time.

Mr. Wen will start a two-day official visit to Germany on Wednesday, and is expected to discuss Iran with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Before arriving in Vienna, Mr. Solana said he did not want United Nations sanctions to be imposed on Iran “as long as meetings with Mr. Larijani continue.”

Britain, France and Germany circulated a letter to other European capitals on Thursday warning that Iran was intent on “splitting the international community” and playing for time by declining to answer in detail a package of economic and political incentives that American, European, Russian and Chinese negotiators presented it in July.