G8 Calls Iran To Respond To Nuclear Offer Next Week
Nji Che - All Headline News Staff Writer Moscow, Russia (AHN) - The Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations on Thursday urged Iran to respond to the atomic incentives aimed at persuading Tehran to stop uranium enrichment by next week. An official statement issued by the G8 foreign ministers says, "We are disappointed by the absence of an official Iranian response to this positive proposal." It adds that, "We expect to hear a clear and substantive response to these proposals at the planned meeting of Javier Solana .... and Ali Larijani on July 5 and to bring these discussions to a rapid conclusion." Solana is EU foreign policy chief, while Larijani is Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. Foreign ministers from the G8 member countries met in Russia to discuss G8 summit preparation and possible ways to get Iran to respond faster. The move is a continuation of a long running process to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program. The ministers also expressed concerns over the arrest of Hamas government members by Israeli forces. Major western powers offered Iran a set of incentives aimed at convincing Tehran to give up its nuclear enrichment earlier this month. Although the incentives did not spell out the deadline for a reply, Iran was expected to reply by the end of June. Two weeks ago, Iran said it was still looking at the incentives. The countries in question want Iran to respond before the G8 leaders meet during the |
