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Iran
Hails EU Decision to Open Trade Talks, U.S. Wants Assurances
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Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, right, and Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs Josep Pique
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TEHRAN,
June 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Iran Tuesday hailed the
agreement of the European Union (EU) to open talks on a trade and
cooperation agreement with Tehran as a "step forward".
Whereas the U.S. said it wanted assurances from the EU that any move
to boost economic ties with Iran would be contingent on changes in the
Islamic republic's behavior.
"This
negotiation is a step forward," said Foreign Ministry spokesman
Hamid-Reza Asefi, the official news agency IRNA reported.
He
stressed that "dialogue is the essence of Iran's foreign policy,
and Iran has always advocated a dialogue with the European Union on
the basis of mutual respect.
"The
Islamic Republic would welcome any move to broaden Iran-EU relations
without any preconditions while at the same time taking into
consideration the sensitivities of the two sides," he said,
quoted by IRNA.
Asefi
said a trade pact "could turn out to be an appropriate framework
to institutionalize bilateral cooperation on issues of mutual interest
with a view to securing common interests".
At
a meeting in Luxembourg, EU Foreign Ministers reached political
agreement Monday, June 17, 2002, on a mandate to open talks with Iran
on a trade and cooperation agreement that would also include a
political annex.
Closer
EU contacts with Iran is seen in European capitals as crucial for
bolstering security in and around the Middle East, the Gulf and
Central Asia including Afghanistan.
But
prior to Monday, there was disagreement over the scope of the
negotiating mandate, with some member states favoring a more
politically-focused pact with Iran that would have taken longer to
hammer out.
However,
the United States sounded more cautious, and even dissatisfied with
the warming up of relations between Iran, dubbed part of the U.S.
President’s “axis of evil”, and the EU.
U.S.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said U.S. and European
officials frequently consulted on the matter and that Washington
expressed concern about the EU improving trade ties with Iran, unless
Tehran took steps to earn such a step.
"We
have made quite clear in these discussion our grave concerns about
Iranian behavior," he said, noting Iran's (alleged) support for
international terrorism, its opposition to the Middle East peace
process, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and missiles and
its human rights record, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"It
has been our understanding that any economic incentives for Iran would
be linked to improvement in Iranian behavior on these areas of
concern," Boucher told reporters.
"We
are continuing to consult closely with European officials regarding
Iran policy and we will have to look at any actual business
developments in terms of U.S. law," he said.
The
United States can impose sanctions against foreign companies doing
certain types of business in Iran - particularly oil companies - under
several pieces of existing legislation and executive orders.
U.S.
President George W. Bush in January identified Iran as one-third -
along with Iraq and North Korea - of an "axis of evil" bent
on supporting terrorism and acquiring nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons.
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