EU foreign ministers will discuss efforts to get Iran to return to international talks over its nuclear program at a two-day meeting starting in Stockholm on Friday. Diplomats say that new sanctions from the 27-member bloc aren't on the table, and that the focus is on getting Tehran to answer positively to new overtures on negotiations.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the EU presidency, has led the bloc's condemnations against the crackdown on protesters in Iran following June's presidential elections. Bildt, however, says the EU remains open to discuss Iran's nuclear program, which it and the US fear could be used to build atomic weapons.
The EU has not yet received a formal reply from Iran on whether it is keen to return to negotiations, said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. Envoys from Germany, France, Britain, Russia, China and the US met in Frankfurt on Wednesday and urged Iran to agree to new talks before the UN General Assembly meets later this month in New York.
Iran's nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, told reporters on Tuesday that Iran would present new proposals, but gave no further details. The EU foreign ministers will also discuss efforts to stabilise Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Bildt is expected to brief his counterparts on his visit this week to Afghanistan, where he met with top leaders to discuss the aftermath of the elections there. President Hamid Karzai is leading the vote count with 47.3 percent, but needs to win a majority of the votes to avoid a two-man runoff. Hundreds of serious allegations of fraud have been formally filed since voting day, mostly involving ballot-box stuffing and voter intimidation. Support from international donors like the EU will be key for Karzai's administration.
EU nations have already promised to send more police trainers and aid to Afghanistan, but have so far shied away from deploying more troops to back a renewed US push to combat insurgents and Taliban forces there. The EU has around 400 police trainers in Afghanistan and is looking to double that. The ministers will also discuss international efforts to get Israelis and Palestinians back to peace talks and will discuss how the EU can improve the way it crafts its common foreign policy.
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