Iran, EU: Progress Made In Nuke Talks

'Many Of The Misunderstandings Were Removed,' Iranian Official Says

(AP) 
Iran's package of counterproposals, made Aug. 22, has not been fully disclosed but was initially dismissed as inadequate by leaders of the six-nation alliance, primarily because it made no mention of a pre-negotiation enrichment freeze as those six countries demanded.

Still, both men indicated the gap had been narrowed.

And European officials have suggested that at least some of the six nations were ready to listen if Iran committed itself to an enrichment freeze soon after the start of negotiations instead of as a condition for such talks. The officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday, requested anonymity in exchange for sharing confidential information.

Such readiness would be a blow to U.S.-led attempts to hold fast to the demand that Iran freeze enrichment before any talks — or face the prospect of Security Council sanctions.

One of the officials said Solana discussed the issue with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before going into the weekend talks, but declined to offer details.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Friday that Washington expected the Security Council to start discussing a draft on sanctions as early as next week, unless Tehran does a last-minute turn and agrees to halt enrichment.

But there might be opposition to that. Russia and China have resisted a quick move to sanctions even though they agree to them as the ultimate punishment.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged the international community not to threaten Iran with economic and other sanctions to resolve the standoff.

Wen said Saturday after an EU summit in Finland that diplomacy is a "long process" and added that "to mount pressure or impose sanctions will not necessarily bring about a peaceful solution" to the controversy over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

And French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy last week appeared to suggest that the demand to stop enrichment before talks was negotiable, saying: "The question is to know at what moment this suspension takes place compared to negotiations."

He later appeared to reverse himself, saying in separate comments that "suspension ... is an absolute prerequisite for restoring trust and resuming negotiations."

A European diplomat told AP such vacillation appeared to reflect that — although Britain, France and Germany formally represent the European Union — a sizable number of countries within the 25-member EU oppose a quick move to sanctions.

[grazinggoat]

A step further toward a soft solution.