Last update - 00:00 05/09/2006
Solana, Irani nuclear negotiator tentatively agree to meet
By The Associated Press
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's senior nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani tentatively agreed to meet Wednesday in Vienna in a last-ditch attempt to try and bridge differences over Tehran's nuclear program, UN and European officials said.
The officials, who demanded anonymity Monday for discussing confidential information with The Associated Press, stressed the date and venue could still change despite initial agreement to meet Wednesday in the Austrian capital.
While word leaked last week that the Iranians had agreed to meet with Solana to explore potential chances of solving the impasse, the time and venue are being officially kept secret in an apparent attempt not to jeopardize any chance of their success.
Asked to confirm the reports, Cristina Gallach, the spokeswoman for Solana, would only say "the lines of communications are being kept open" between the two sides.
At issue is Tehran's refusal to consider freezing uranium enrichment, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons, despite a demand by the UN Security
Council that it do so.
On Thursday, the last day of a council deadline for Iran to suspend enrichment, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Tehran had failed to do so, despite the threat of UN sanctions.
The Solana-Larijani talks are seen as the last chance to explore the possibility of a negotiated solution to the standoff before the council actively starts work on such sanctions. Senior negotiators of the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany are expected to meet in Berlin on Thursday to discuss the results of Wednesday's meeting.