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Teheran makes "package proposal"

Vladimir Radyuhin

Iran to hold talks with the E.U.'s "troika" in Brussels on nuclear programme

MOSCOW: Iran has made a "package proposal" to Russia to end the standoff over Teheran's nuclear programme, the chief Iranian negotiator said after Russian-Iranian talks in Moscow.

"At the talks with the Russian side we discussed a package proposal," Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani told a press conference here on Thursday. "We believe that the Russian proposal must be considered in one package with other aspects."

He refused to reveal details but said the new proposal would soon be made public.

"The Iranian side wants to optimise the Russian proposal on setting up a joint venture [to enrich uranium for Iran] in the framework of multilateral cooperation to optimise the Iranian nuclear programme," the Iranian negotiator said, adding that Iran would now hold talks with the European Union's "troika" — Germany, France and Britain — in Brussels on Friday.

More restrained

The Russian side was more restraint in its comments on the Moscow talks.

"We had a constructive and serious discussion, but many questions remain unresolved," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said.

Russia and Iran held a third round of talks on Wednesday after two sessions last week made no visible progress. Secretary of Russia's Security Council Igor Ivanov led the Russian delegation.

Security Council sources said the talks may continue later on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Moscow reiterated its call for Iran to return to a moratorium on enriching uranium as a condition for taking part in a joint enrichment facility on Russian territory.

"What is necessary [for compromise] is for Iran to come back to the moratorium, to accept the joint venture proposal as a package that would be supported by the members of the governors' board of the IAEA," Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Wednesday.

Experts said the stumbling block was Iran's demand that part of the enrichment process be set up on its territory and that its engineers have access to the other part of the enrichment on Russian territory.

Teheran is also believed to be seeking firm security guarantees in exchange for its resumption of moratorium on enrichment activities.

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