The foreign ministers of Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to a "dual-track approach" to addressing the Iranian nuclear issue.
The joint statement by the ministers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States, was read out by British Ambassador John Sawers after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1803 pressing Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities.
The resolution cleared the council with a vote of 14-0. Indonesia abstained.
"We remain committed to an early negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and reaffirm our commitment to a dual-track approach," the statement said.
"We reconfirm the proposals we presented to Iran in June 2006 and are prepared to further development them," it said. "Our proposals will offer substantial opportunities for political, security and economic benefits to Iran and to the region."
The statement urged Tehran "to take this opportunity to engage with us all and to find a negotiated way forward."
It reiterated the recognition of Iran's right to development, research, production, and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in conformity with its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations.
The statement said UN Security Council resolution 1803 reflects "the international community's ongoing serious concerns about the proliferation risks of the Iranian nuclear program."
"This is the third time that the UN Security Council has sent a strong message of international resolve to Iran by adopting a sanctions resolution," it noted.
While deploring Tehran's "continued failure" to comply with requirements of the UN Security Council and the Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "in particular by expanding its enrichment-related activities," the statement noted "progress made in implementing the IAREA-Iran Work Plan and the IAEA's serious concerns about the 'alleged studies,' which are critical to an assessment of a possible military dimension of Iran's nuclear program."
It urged Iran to heed the requirements of the UN Security Council and the IAEA, including the suspension of its enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.
The statement said the foreign ministers have asked Javier Solana, the European Union's high representative for common foreign and security policy, to meet with Saeed Jalili, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, to "address the interests and concerns of both sides in a manner which can gradually create the conditions for the opening of negotiations."
Source:Xinhua
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