0525 GMT: As all sides position themselves for the start of talks on Iran's nuclear programme on 13 April in Istanbul, we begin with a few of the poses:
For Tehran, the task is to establish that it is coming to the table from a position of strength, not from weakness and the pressure of international isolation and sanctions. So Ali Asghar Soltanieh, the Islamic Repubic's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared on Saturday, "Iran will not suspend enrichment [of uranium]. No one dares attack us."
For the US, the task is to welcome the discussions but to warn Iran that this is its last, time-limited chance before further punishment is wielded. So US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used an appearance with representatives of the Gulf Co-operation Council states to assert:
It is up to Iran’s leaders to make the right choice. We will see whether they will intend to do so....What is certain, however, is that Iran’s window to seek and obtain a peaceful resolution will not remain open forever.
Far more interesting than either of these --- because, frankly, I have heard the tunes many times before --- was the positioning of Russia. Moscow does not want to appear as part of a bloc beating on Iran so Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) group that the Iranians "have done a lot to show their constructiveness" and world powers "shouldn't be tempted into using military force".
Yet Russia also does not want to put itself into unconditional backing of Tehran and thus opposition to the US and European powers so Ryabkov, without supporting tougher sanctions, declared, "The scale of the Iranian nuclear program is expanding, which is in direct violation of UN resolutions". And he even hinted that Moscow would have to watch a "very alarming...escalation", including military strikes on Tehran's nuclear facilities, if discussions bore no fruit.
Posted via email from lissping
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