Major Powers fail to agree on agenda for Iran nuclear talks

Source: AFP, 17-04-2008
SHANGHAI--The five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany and the EU, failed Wednesday to agree on an agenda for negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, an official said. But the envoys agreed to continue to work on a joint proposal aimed at bringing Tehran back to the negotiation table and in line with UN resolutions.
"We discussed how to conduct dialogue and negotiations with Iran ... we have agreed on most points in the proposal, however there are some outstanding issues that remain to be resolved," said China's assistant foreign minister, He Yafei. "As soon as an agreement is reached on this proposal ... it will be referred to the Iranian side and at that time we hope the Iranian side will respond positively to it and make its own contributions to a proper settlement."
Britain, China, France, Russia, the US and Germany and the EU took part in the talks.
He did not give a timeline for when they hoped to resume negotiations with Tehran, but he said the agenda for the talks should lay out "a comprehensive, durable and proper solution" that covers nuclear energy, political security and economic areas.
Wednesday's deputy-ministerial-level meeting was held after Iran announced last week that it had begun operating hundreds of new centrifuges in violation of a raft of UN resolutions.
Western governments have warned Iran that it faces further sanctions if it continues to expand its nuclear program, which they claim is a cover for a drive to develop an atomic weapon.
Tehran insists its program is entirely peaceful and aimed at generating energy.
But its official IRNA news agency said last week it was now operating 492 new centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, in defiance of UN calls to freeze the process.