Brussels Urges Iran to Reform or Face Bar on Trade Talks Revival
May 04, 2004
The Financial Times
Judy Dempsey
The European Union's top officials told Iran yesterday it could not expect important trade talks to resume immediately even if it complied with all its commitments to openness about its nuclear programmes.
The visiting Iranian foreign minister was told that Brussels is also insisting on progress on human rights, political reform and an end to support for terrorist groups.
This tough stance by Javier Solana, the foreign policy chief, and Chris Patten, the external affairs commissioner, appears designed to prove to Iran - and the US - that the EU can speak and act with one voice by using the prospects of a mutually beneficial trade relationship to put pressure on Iran.
If the Islamic republic does not co-operate, it has been told, it could face isolation by its largest trading partner.
Kamal Kharrazi, the Iranian minister, who is on a fresh diplomatic offensive to several European capitals, was in Brussels yesterday seeking assurances that the agreement made with Tehran last year by London, Paris and Berlin and backed by the EU still stood.
The "Big Three" had suggested to Iran that if it complied with an International Atomic Energy Agency request for enhanced inspections of its nuclear sites, claimed by the US to be being used to develop nuclear weapons, Iran could expect some rewards that involved trade and other issues.
Unable to create divisions on the issue inside the EU or among the Big Three, Iran complied with the IAEA request, considered a diplomatic coup by the Europeans. However, Iran's subsequent cover-up of its nuclear facilities, allegations that it was continuing its enriched uranium programme and the victory of the conservatives in the recent elections, have hardened the position of the Europeans.
The EU officials told Mr Kharrazi, considered a reformer, that they expected "full transparency" in Iran's co-operation with the IAEA. "We have been deceived before. Today, we insisted on full transparency," said a European diplomat.
Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister, is expected to repeat the same line tomorrow when Mr Kharrazi visits Berlin.
The IAEA will deliver its verdict on Iran's compliance on June 14 and the Europeans are exerting as much diplomatic pressure as possible in the meantime.
Mr Kharrazi responded that the EU could not be considered a "reliable partner" if the political and trade talks were not soon restarted. Nevertheless, the EU is insisting on its conditions for their resumption.
http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/Brussels%20Urges%20Iran%20To%20Reform%20Or%20Face%20Bar%20On%20Trade%20Talks%20Revival