Iran Nuclear Talks End Without Progress
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton grimly summed up the third round of nuclear talks with Iran, saying at a press conference in Moscow that the gaps between the Islamic Republic and the six Western powers remain significant and fundamental.
“The choice is Iran’s,” Ashton said. “We expect Iran to decide whether it is willing to make diplomacy work.”
She added that the six Western powers remained united in their position, and that they had once again presented to Iran the package it was offered in the previous round of talks in Baghdad. According to the offer, Iran would stop 20 percent enrichment of uranium, shut down the Fordow nuclear facility and ship out stockpiled highly-enriched nuclear materials.
According to Ashton, Western representatives arrived at the talks prepared to make progress if Iran agrees to the offer. The exchanges, she said, “were detailed, tough and frank… We have begun to tackle critical issues (but) it remains clear that there are significant gaps between the substance of the two positions.”
For more, go to Haaretz.com
