Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday that Tehran wanted to resume talks on its disputed nuclear programme but "without any preconditions".
Mottaki told reporters after talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin that Iran was "by no means isolated" in its desire to pursue uranium enrichment, despite growing international pressure for it to abandon sensitive nuclear work.
He said Iran was "very seriously studying" a package offered by the five permanent UN Security Council members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - plus Germany to peacefully resolve the crisis over its nuclear ambitions. Mottaki said he saw "very positive points" in the proposal but also "ambiguities".
He spoke with Steinmeier for about two hours at a government guest house in the posh southern suburb of Dahlem and not at the foreign ministry in central Berlin.
The meeting, which Mottaki initiated, came amid mounting suspense over Tehran's response to an incentive package offered if it stops enriching uranium. Steinmeier said the international community needed clarity "very quickly" on Iran's intentions, adding that "the suspension of uranium enrichment would create an auspicious environment" for a return to the negotiating table.
He said it was important to find "a lasting balance between the legitimate right for civilian use of atomic energy and the justified concerns of the international community". The international proposal promises incentives and multilateral talks if Iran agrees to temporarily halt uranium enrichment activities at the heart of fears the hard line regime could develop nuclear weapons.
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