0615 GMT: Speaking to journalists after an European Union Foreign Ministers' meeting in Cyprus on Saturday, Catherine Ashton --- the lead negotiator on the nuclear issue for the 5+1 Powers (US, British, Germany, France, China, Russia --- had a message for the Iranian regime: a review is underway “not only to consider whether more sanctions should be taken, but to make sure the enforcement of sanctions is done properly and any abilities to evade them are dealt with".
Ashton's declaration followed statements on Friday by the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain that they support new sanctions over the lack of progress in talks about Iran's nuclear programme.
The significance of those assertions probably does not lie in "new sanctions" --- it is unclear what more the Europeans and the US can do to to squeeze the Iranian economy --- but in the political message.
Ashton may have said that she has spoken with her Iranian counterpart, Saeed Jalili, but there will be no resumption of high-level negotiations in the near-future. The main line of the "Western" strategy is to force concessions from Tehran --- or to force it to its knees --- rather than to engage in talks.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry is still focusing on Friday's call by British Foreign Secretary William Hague to "intensify sanctions", calling the remarks "irresponsible".
Posted via email from lissping
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.