By Country / Iran
Iran 'Unilaterally' Rejects Nuclear Deal, Says France
December 05, 2005
5 December 2005 -- French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy has said Iran's insistence on enriching uranium on its own soil amounts to a "unilateral" rejection of a Russian proposal to resolve a nuclear standoff with the West.
Douste-Blazy’s comments, addressed to reporters on 5 December, were made during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana.
Britain, France and Germany -- backed by the United States -- argue that the only guarantee that Iran will not use its atomic-energy program as a means to acquire a nuclear bomb is if the country abandons its uranium-enrichment activities. Britain, France and Germany -- collectively known as the EU-3 -- are backing a proposal from Moscow under which Iran's uranium would be enriched on Russian soil.
But Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, reiterated on 5 December that Tehran will not give up its ambitions to acquire its own nuclear-fuel capacity.
(Reuters/AFP)