G8 urges positive response from Iran on nuclear incentives
Published: Friday, June 27, 2008
14:20GMT—10:20AM/EST
G8 – IRAN – NUCLEAR – INCENTIVES
Washington, 27 June (IranVNC)—The Group of Eight foreign ministers urged Iran on Friday to respond positively to a newly updated Security Council incentives package aimed at resolving the dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“We call on Iran to respond to the updated incentives package in a constructive manner,” G8 ministers said in a statement issued after a two-day meeting in Kyoto, Japan.
The ministers said they remained committed to the dual-track approach of sanctions and diplomacy with Tehran and urged the latter to respond to the international community’s calls “to engage in negotiations” and to act in a more responsible manner in the Middle East, particularly with regards to the stability of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The European Union agreed on new economic sanctions against Iran on Monday, including measures to freeze the assets of the country’s largest financial institution, Bank Melli.
In response, Iran issued a report that said it would withdraw its assets from the EU, Reuters reports.
The head of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani referred to the G8 statement in today’s Friday prayer sermons in Tehran, saying that the methods adopted by the “Western countries” in their approach to Iran were wrong.
““The EU has approved the impudent decision to freeze the assets of Iran’s Bank Melli…and the US Senate is seeking to ratify a new resolution against our country. They want to bring more pressure to bear on us. And today too, at the Group of Eight meeting in Japan, they issued a dual-track statement concerning Iran,” Rafsanjani said.
“You are not in a position to say that Iran should be encouraged or punished,” he said, addressing Western powers.
Also on the nuclear power topic, the G8 ministers expressed a guarded optimism towards North Korea’s nuclear declaration, which it submitted to China on Thursday.
“We stress the importance of verifying the declaration, look forward to an early agreement on the principles of verifying the declaration and urge North Korea to fully cooperate in the verification, as well as to swiftly disable all existing nuclear facilities,” the joint statement said.
Washington announced on Thursday that it will remove Pyongyang from its blacklist of sponsors of terror in 45 days, a move that North Korea welcomed, according to a statement by its foreign ministry on Friday, AP reports.
On the Zimbabwe issue, the ministers warned that they would not recognize President Robert Mugabe’s government, saying it “does not reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people.” During a March 29 first round of voting, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai got more votes than Mugabe but fell short of a majority. He later withdrew, accusing the authorities of violence and intimidation.
On other issues, the joint statement urged Myanmar’s military regime to lift the remaining restrictions on aid after Cyclone Nargis, and to improve access for foreign aid to the affected areas. It also reiterated its deep concern over the worsening humanitarian and security situation in Darfur and urged all parties to commit to a cease-fire and move on with the peace process.
The two-day meeting in Kyoto is meant to lay the groundwork for a G8 summit taking place from 7-9 July in the northern Japanese town of Toyako.
Source: Reuters, Associated Press
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