September 27, 2013 -- Updated 1239 GMT (2039 HKT)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad
Javad Zarif meet -- the first such high-level meeting since Iran's 1979
revolution. FULL STORY
|
OPINION: NO OVERNIGHT MIRACLES
--
September 27, 2013 -- Updated 0259 GMT (1059 HKT)
Kerry: Meeting with Iran constructive
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- John Kerry and Iran's foreign minister have a quick bilateral discussion
- FM Mohammad Javad Zarif says "satisfied with this first step"
- "There's a lot of work to be done," says the U.S. Secretary of State
- The U.S. and Iran have had no high-level face-to-face contact since the 1979 revolution
That drought ended Thursday.
Secretary of State John
Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met in New York
as part of a meeting between the Middle Eastern country and the five
permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany.
Ashton: Tone of Iran talk changed
Rouhani: Nuclear disarmament a priority
Hassan Rouhani full interview
Israel Amb.: Accepting Holocaust low bar
Both diplomats described as "constructive" the meeting, which explored the idea of restarting talks on Iran's nuclear program.
"We hope to be able to
make progress towards resolving this issue in a timely fashion based on
respecting the rights of the Iranian people to nuclear technology for
peaceful purposes, including enrichment. And, at the same time, making
sure that there is no concern at the international level that Iran's
nuclear program is anything but peaceful," Zarif told reporters after
the meeting.
Kerry, likewise, sounded cautiously optimistic.
"I think all of us were
pleased that Foreign Minister Zarif came and made a presentation to us,
which was very different in tone and very different in the vision that
he held out with respect to the possibilities of the future," Kerry
said.
"There's a lot of work to
be done, so we will engage in that work obviously and we hope very,
very much -- all of us -- that we can get concrete results that will
answer the outstanding questions regarding the program," he added.
Zarif made a 15- to
20-minute presentation, a senior State Department official told CNN,
laying out what Iran's interests were and his nation's desire to reach
agreement with other nations and fully implement that agreement within a
year. The State Department official called Zarif's presentation
"thoughtful."
Outside of the larger meeting, Kerry and Zarif also had a short bilateral discussion.
"We stressed the need to
continue these discussions to give it the political impetus that it
requires, and hopefully to reach a conclusion in a reasonable time,"
Zarif said. "I'm satisfied with this first step. Now we have to see
whether we can match our positive words with serious deeds so that we
can move forward."
Such a high-level
meeting involving the United States and Iran hasn't happened since
Iran's 1979 revolution, which sent relations between the two into a deep
freeze.
But the election of new
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, widely seen as more moderate than his
predecessor, seems to have opened the possibility of a thaw in
relations.
Rouhani made comments
this week that have led many leaders to conclude there is a chance to
strike a nuclear accord between Iran and the other nations.
He called on Thursday for an end to nuclear weapons, saying such disarmament "remains our highest priority."
"As long as nuclear
weapons exist, the risk of their use, threat of use and proliferation
persist," Rouhani told the U.N. General Assembly on behalf of the
Non-Aligned Movement. "The only absolute guarantee is their total
elimination."
The recent developments prompted President Barack Obama to dispatch Kerry to seek a deal with Tehran.
The United States and
other world powers have long said they believe Iran wants nuclear
weapons. Iran has said it only wants to harness nuclear energy for
peaceful purposes.
Obama said on Tuesday
that curbing Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, along with solving the
Middle East conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, would be his
highest foreign policy priority for the remainder of his term.
"While these issues are
not the cause of all the region's problems, they have been a major
source of instability for far too long, and resolving them can help
serve as a foundation for a broader peace," he said during his address
on the opening day of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
Obama sounded cautious
about any possible breakthrough, saying "the roadblocks may prove to be
too great, but I firmly believe the diplomatic path must be tested."
Senior administration
officials said Obama made the decision to appoint Kerry his point man on
Iran to demonstrate an increased emphasis and importance the president
is putting on improved relations with Tehran.
See who mentions Iran on Facebook
Until now, negotiations
have been held at lower levels. But raising the dialogue through Kerry
was intended to reiterate Obama's openness to move forward with a
bilateral approach on Iran.
Upon taking office,
Rouhani appointed Foreign Minister Zarif, a western-educated former
ambassador to the United Nations, as his lead nuclear negotiator. The
move was similarly seen as a gesture at improving relations with the
West.
In his speech to the
General Assembly, Rouhani said Iran was prepared for immediate nuclear
talks that are "time-bound and result-oriented ... to build mutual
confidence and removal of mutual uncertainties."
The Iranian leader also
said he listened carefully to Obama's speech and hoped the United States
"will refrain from following the shortsighted interests of warmongering
pressure groups" so the two nations "can arrive at a framework to
manage our differences."
In February, the bloc of
countries leading the diplomatic effort offered Iran a package of
economic incentives to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
In exchange for easing
of sanctions barring trade with Iran in gold and other precious metals,
the group wants Iran to shut its underground enrichment facility at
Fordo, near the holy city of Qom, and ship out its stockpile of uranium
enriched to 20% purity.
The group also proposed
fuel for a medical reactor and easing sanctions on aviation spare parts
in exchange for Iran suspending its uranium enrichment and shipping its
stockpiles out of the country.
Iran has never formally
responded to the deal and it remains to be seen whether the group would
be willing to sweeten the offer in the new climate.
Rouhani told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that he has the full backing of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
"The supreme leader, I
can tell you, has given permission for my government to freely negotiate
on these issues," he said in the interview. Obama administration
officials have said they believe the Iranians are ready to negotiate
because of the toll international sanctions have taken on their economy.
In his remarks Thursday,
Rouhani said Iran would be willing to live under International Atomic
Energy Agency safeguards against nuclear weapons, but scolded Israel for
not signing on to international nuclear nonprofileration agreements.
"Israel, the only
nonparty to the Non-Proliferation Treaty in this region, should join
thereto without any further delay. Accordingly, all nuclear activities
in the region should be subject to the IAEA comprehensive safeguards,"
he said.
"The international
community has to redouble its efforts in support of the establishment of
this zone. This would constitute a contribution to the objective of
nuclear disarmament."
Israel has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons but is widely believed to possess them.
Israeli officials fear
Iranian nuclear weapons pose a direct threat to their security,
especially after years of bellicose rhetoric from the previous Iranian
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
While Rouhani's tone has
been different -- he recently wished Jews a happy Rosh Hashanah through
his official Twitter account and on Wednesday acknowledged the reality
of the Holocaust in Western media interviews -- Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that he's not yet sold on
Iran's seemingly more moderate tone.
TOP MIDDLE EAST STORIES
- U.N. Security Council could vote on Syria resolution Friday
- State news: Iraqi Consulate in Syria shelled; 1 dead
- Dual blasts in Baghdad leave 18 dead, 50 wounded
- Iranians warm to possible thaw in relations
- Amanpour: Why Rouhani may be different | Rouhani: 'I bring peace'
- Syrian rebels reject interim government
- Attack in Iraq leaves 10 dead
- U.N. investigators back in Syria
- 'Innocence of Muslims' filmmaker set to be released
- COPY http://edition.cnn.com/
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário