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IRAN/NUCLEAR ISSUE

Q - According to diplomats, proposals are in the air for the EU to offer Iran a nuclear plant built by Siemens and Areva. Can you confirm that this is being considered?

Iran was on the agenda at yesterday's general affairs council in Brussels. As you know, the EU3 made a number of proposals on this question following the meetings in New York last week--both positive and negative proposals depending on the response of the Iranian authorities to what the international community has been demanding for a long time.

With regard to the positive proposals, there are three sections in the proposals which were presented yesterday and which the EU is working on with its partners in the international community. You've a section on civilian nuclear energy cooperation. I won't go into details of this section which still needs further work, but it is a fact there are proposals for civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran.

In addition to these proposals, there are overtures in the economic and trade spheres along with proposals of a more political nature pertaining to Iran's regional security. The three sections were presented yesterday, and there was agreement among the 25 to work on this basis. And may I remind you that there will be a new meeting at the end of the week of the EU3 and the Americans Russians and Chinese to evaluate this package of measures to the Iranians.

Once again, the overriding wish today is to maintain unity in the international community while being firm about our demands and proposing in a concerted way a diplomatic path to the Iranians in this dispute.

Q - Was the proposal discussed beforehand with the Americans?

The proposal presented by the Europeans was considered at the meetings in New York last week and, as I've said, is currently being worked on. It will be discussed again in London at the end of the week because we certainly would like the proposals to be endorsed by all the partners. That's the reason you'll have a meeting very soon, as described above.

Q - So the Americans didn't reject the principles at the talks in New York last week?

As I said, it's the next meeting which will show what the support is for the EU proposals. We received a mandate in New York to work on a package of both positive and negative measures, and that's what we did. The EU3 presented them yesterday to their EU partners who adopted them and encouraged the three to pursue this path. Now, the next stage is the meeting in London to check that the package is a tool on which agreement can be reached at the level of the EU3 and the three other partners who'll be attending the next meeting.

Q - About yesterday's meeting in Teheran between the ambassadors and Iranian foreign minister. Do you have details? People are saying the meeting was a failure.

Q - You've referred to positive and negative proposals. What's happening with them?

With regard to yesterday's meeting, I think it was to go over positions that are fairly well known. I've no further details. But what we're saying, and I want to repeat this, is that certain demands have been made by the international community, both in the IAEA and at the UN Security Council. We still stand by these demands to the Iranian authorities. That's the reason, as I've just said, that if the Iranian authorities decided to accept these demands, there would be a number of positive measures, which we've just spoken of, which could be proposed with the approval, we hope, of the entire international community. If, unfortunately, the Iranian authorities decided not to comply with the commitments being asked of them, then in that case there would be negative measures which are measures ranging from sanctions in contacts, in financial assets to other measures on those lines.

But there too, discussions are being held among the partners.

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