[Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.]

. . .

Q - There's a meeting of the Six on Iran. Can you tell us some of the ideas France is proposing for the draft resolution?

A - The meeting of the Six will be held this evening at 6 p.m. at the Foreign Ministry, right here. It will be followed by a dinner for the political directors at 8 p.m. (...)

The minister commented on the Iranian nuclear issue in Brussels yesterday after meeting Mr. Lavrov. As you know, we've been having contacts and discussing for some time a draft resolution that comprises measures under Article 41 of the UN Charter, as provided for in SCR 1696 which was adopted in New York at the end of July. We're working on this draft.

There have already been very detailed contacts among the various capitals concerned. There was a meeting yesterday between the minister and Mr. Lavrov. We hope that progress will be made today on the draft resolution. Our goal of course is to see the draft adopted as soon as possible in the Security Council and for us to see progress today and take on board the concerns of the various parties.

Q - In Iran today President Ahmadjinejad threatened to curtail relations with the EU in the event of sanctions. What's your reaction? Can you be more detailed about yesterday's meeting?

A - I noted the Iranian president's remarks. As we've said from the beginning, we're not getting into a polemical debate with the Iranian authorities. The things the Iranian president said don't correspond to reality. When he says, for example, that we want to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear program, I believe that doesn't correspond to reality. The Six have made an offer to Iran to develop a civil nuclear program, under certain conditions and with certain guarantees.

For the rest, we're not going to get involved in this polemic. As the minister has said repeatedly, the point is not to punish Iran. It's simply a matter of taking measures to encourage it to begin negotiations on the basis of the proposal the Six have made, and possibly on the basis of any ideas presented by the Iranians themselves. The idea is to encourage the Iranians to return to the negotiating table and commit to negotiations, something they've so far refused to do, refusing to suspend enrichment activities.

In our view this was a necessary gesture for entering into negotiations, and bear in mind that we had proposed a "dual suspension"-suspension of enrichment activities and suspending of moves in the Security Council.

As for the minister's talks with Mr. Lavrov, at this time the negotiation is on a draft that remains confidential so I can't go into details. As you know, the Russians have certain concerns linked to the perimeter of the measures envisioned. Just how far should we go, particularly in the case of individual measures? That's the kind of thing that will continue to be discussed today.

Q - Was there progress yesterday in the talks with the Russians?

A - The minister made a statement after his meeting with Mr. Lavrov. I've nothing to add to what he said. We feel that the Russians, like the others, agree on the principle of a resolution. Once again, the debate focuses on the perimeter of the resolution and the measures envisioned in it. We think it is time now to have an agreement so the resolution can be adopted at the UN.

Q - Can you explain a bit what has been happening these past few days concerning the preparation for the meeting of the Six? There's an impression the Russians are blowing hot and cold. Can you tell us what happened?

A - I don't necessarily have all the details in my head, the whole chronology. It's more a question of some ups and down which have no particular interest. (...)

We said we were willing to host this meeting once the others were ready to take part in it. There were contacts between the capitals to see if such a meeting might be useful now. A bilateral contact was already planned between the French political director and his Russian counterpart. It was decided to enlarge it and transform it into a meeting of the Six. We hope the meeting will prove useful and allow us to move forward.

Q - But it all seems a bit sudden.

A - Everything is relative. It is after all a discussion that has been going on for some time. There are agendas that have to be reconciled. One shouldn't attach too much important to this kind of thing.

Q - (...) Could you be a bit clearer on what the stumbling block is to an eventual agreement on the draft?

A - It's a bit difficult for me because the draft hasn't been made public as such. The discussions are confidential. It is difficult for me to give you the various positions, especially just before a meeting to negotiate. It would even be counter-productive for the meeting to proceed smoothly.

I'm not going to go into details, but it's what's what we were saying just now. The question is just how far we're going to go, what type of activity we're covering, what type of individual measures we're envisioning and eventually the modalities for revisiting the measures we're planning. That's the kind of question being asked. The major protagonists, as you know-you'll recognize their positions because they've been stated. There are the Russians, the Americans and the Europeans who are in a position to see how to find a balance.

Q - (...) There's no movement from Iran?

A - It would be a very nice surprise for us this evening. But nothing indicates at this time that we're moving in that direction. For our part, the door is always open to the Iranians. If they reverse the attitude they've adopted, if they agree to enter into negotiations, while suspending enrichment activities, then at that moment all the work which is being done on the draft resolution could be put in parentheses, could be frozen.

. . .