Summary: Statement on Iran from the meeting of Foreign Ministers in Berlin (Berlin: 30 March 2006)
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has issued the following Statement:
"The Foreign Ministers of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union met in Berlin today, 30 March 2006.
We had a very substantive exchange of views on the situation resulting from Iran's nuclear activities.
We continue to be seriously concerned about the outstanding issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme and Iran's failure to take the steps as required of Iran by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors in its resolution of 4 February, including suspension of all enrichment related and reprocessing activities, including research and development.
We welcomed the fact that the UN Security Council has reached agreement on a Presidential Statement with the objective of reinforcing the IAEA process.
The Presidential Statement sends a strong signal to Iran to take the steps required by the IAEA Board. At the same time the International Community remains ready to find a diplomatic solution.
We have agreed to continue our close consultations on this issue.
We fully recognize the legitimate right of Iran under the NPT (Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty) to develop a safe and sustainable civilian nuclear programme. At the same time, it is our conviction that there is a need for an extensive period of confidence-building by Iran to convince the international community of the exclusively peaceful purpose of its nuclear programme.
We therefore urgently call on Iran to address international concerns through a diplomatic solution and to suspend all enrichment-related activities to allow a return to the negotiating table."
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