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Friday March 24, 8:11 AMProgress to be made on Iran presidential statement, Welch says(Kyodo) _ Despite reports that the U.N. Security Council is far apart on reaching consensus on a proposed presidential statement aimed at addressing Iran's nuclear ambitions, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs on Thursday expressed confidence that the impasse could be overcome."We are making progress so we are not there yet on a presidential statement but we anticipate with a bit further work and some good will on all sides we will be able to reach consensus on this important statement, reflecting the rising concern of the international community about Iran's nuclear misbehavior," David Welch told reporters at the New York Foreign Press Center. "I am confident that there will be a unified international result on the important nuclear issue," he added. A major point of contention in the draft last week, which calls for Tehran to re-suspend its enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and comply with the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, was a call for Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to report to the Security Council within 14 days on whether Iran has demonstrated compliance. The number is written in brackets, which means that it is to be negotiated among the members. The issue of the time frame, as well as the possibility of individual sanctions, is a contentious one with China and Russia, both of whom support a more central role for the IAEA on the matter, as well as continuing diplomatic activity to deal with it. "The urgency of this issue surpasses whatever divisions may exist over one letter or one phrase someplace in a statement," he said noting that the differences could be ironed out by skilled diplomats who are working on the issue. "You know no one wants to see this Iranian regime have a capability of nuclear weapons. That is not going to happen. It is not acceptable to the international community," he added. Welch was sworn into his current position on March 18, 2005, and was previously U.S. ambassador to Egypt from 2001-2005. |
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