Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a news conference at Dakar airport, September 14, 2006. (Claire Soares/Reuters)
Posted on 09/14/2006 10:23:17 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
VIENNA (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday Iran was open to "new conditions" to resolve its nuclear dispute with Western powers and believed talks could produce agreement.
"We are in favor of dialogue and negotiation and we believe that we can resolve the problems in a context of dialogue and of justice together," Ahmadinejad told a news conference during a visit to the Senegalese capital Dakar.
"I am announcing that we are available, we are ready for new conditions," he said without elaborating, before leaving to fly to a summit of Non-Alignment Movement countries in Cuba.
The United States said on Wednesday Iran was "aggressively" pursuing the development of nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Washington said Iran should face sanctions now, but EU allies said it was not too late for a negotiated solution.
Asked whether Iran was willing to stop enriching uranium, Ahmadinejad said with a smile: "I don't believe there will be sanctions because there is no reason to have sanctions. It would be preferable for the U.S. officials not to speak in anger."
The Islamic Republic refuses to suspend enrichment activity before negotiations on an offer from the major powers of trade incentives not to develop nuclear fuel.
Commenting on Ahmadinejad's "new conditions" remark, White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters:
"We are constantly trying to figure out the position of the Iranian government ... we can't be any more clear about this. Suspend the enrichment and reprocessing activities and we'll talk and once we talk there are all sorts of good things that can happen."
The Western countries in a group of six major powers dealing with Iran appeared to differ over the urgency of sanctions in statements to the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog body.
A minister from Washington's staunchest ally, Britain, said Tehran probably had the resources to withstand sanctions.
SOLANA AND LARIJANI AIDES MEET
A meeting between European Union foreign policy head Javier Solana and Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani set for Thursday was postponed. EU diplomats had said they would discuss a tentative offer by Larijani to consider temporarily halting enrichment of uranium, a process that yields fuel for power plants or bombs.
Solana's spokeswoman said however that senior aides to Solana and Larijani met in Geneva on Thursday.
"It's not ready to go to the principals. It is fine for the work to continue at the level of experts," she said.
Iran's ambassador to the IAEA Aliasghar Soltanieh said there was "no problem" despite the postponement. "Everything is on the right track," he told reporters outside the IAEA board meeting.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja told Reuters: "We have the impression ... that the Iranians are serious. But it remains to be seen if this will lead to results."
The United States, spearheading efforts to draw up sanctions over suspicions Iran is secretly trying to build atomic bombs, has said it has no knowledge of any new Iranian offer.
Western leaders condemned Iran's disregard of an August 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend its uranium enrichment program, which Tehran says is meant only to make electricity.
Washington made clear to the IAEA Iran's defiance should trigger steps toward sanctions. But the "EU3," Britain, France and Germany, omitted mention of punishment and urged more talks.
Three of Washington's fellow veto-holders on the Security Council, China, Russia and France, plus Germany and other EU nations are wary of isolating the world's fourth biggest oil exporter and want more time to find a diplomatic compromise.
"If there were to be, on the part of one or two members of the Security Council, an absence of dialogue and a rise, on one side or the other, in the will for confrontation, the international community would split," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told the French weekly Valeurs Actuelles.
"If the international community were to split, Iran would continue," he was quoted as saying.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on a visit to Germany on Thursday that world powers should be careful about imposing sanctions on Iran because they could be counter-productive.
(Additional reporting by Nick Tattersall in Dakar, Steve Holland in Washington, Francois Murphy in Paris and David Brunnstrom in Helsinki)
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a news conference at Dakar airport, September 14, 2006. (Claire Soares/Reuters)
Translation: "We're ready for Leftists around the world to offer us more stuff while we continue to ignore our part of the bargains!"
Just another date to come and pass...nothing to see here. He should just record all these promises on an 8-track tape and play it....same stuff over and over.
Looks like a man whose Mahdi didn't show up.
Hey,I've got an idea,you little five foot tall psychopath....you completely,and permanently,dismantle your nuke program and Israel will promise not to throw every single nuke they have at your 9th Century country.
It looks like the Iranians are trying a new strategy of sweetness and smiles. But until they decide to suspend uranium enrichment permanently, this is nothing but a deceptive charm campaign. In my view, Ahmadinejad is still the fun-size psycho at this time.
Right now this new Iranian strategy looks like nothing but cheap deception and an insincere charm campaign.
There's not a country in Western and Central Europe that won't fall for it...hook,line and sinker.Russia and China will support it because it would greatly weaken the West.
Israel,however,won't fall for it.You can be sure that there's a report given to the PM every day outlining the current state of Iran's nuke program.And these reports are CC'ed to every top Israeli General and Admiral.
How's the weather in CA today? We're finally cooling off out there in Arizona. October is the "most wonderful time of the year" out here when the weather finally cools off; it even beats the Christmas holidays in this state.
On sorry, I was assuming you're in CA from your screen name...lol. How's the weather in Mass. today?
I think that China and Russia know *exactly* what's going on.There's not a hint of doubt in my mind that their position will be determined by how much money they can make,how much influence they can develop and by how much this will weaken the West.Neither county,IMO,is the least bit frightened by Iran having nukes because they know that Iran knows that if she tries anything,she'll be turned into a giant glass parking lot within hours.
...but Russia and China have to be much more neutral and diplomatic to diffuse this crisis.
As I've implied before,and will state here in the clearest of terms,I'm 100% certain that neither China nor Russia has the slightest desire to diffuse this crisis.
Weather here today is cool and dreary.Fall is definitely in the air.I can see where the spring and fall would be the nicest time of the year out your way.The short time I've spent in southern Nevada has convinced me that I,unlike many,could never live in the desert...but to each his own!
The US should stop pussyfooting and act. I understand waiting until November 5th, but this is all ridiculous.
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