Iran says it has submitted its proposal package to the G5+1 delegation at nuclear talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, but there are no reports on how Iran responded to the world powers’ proposals presented earlier.
ISNA reports that Ali Bagheri, the assistant to Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, said that at today’s meeting, Jalili presented Iran’s “clear proposals” to begin the “new round of cooperation.”
Reports from Almaty indicate that the talks opened in the morning and resumed at 4:45 PM after a break.
Informed diplomats have said that the G5+1 package calls for the suspension of uranium enrichment at the Fordo nuclear site and allows Iran to have the fuel it needs for its research reactor. In exchange, the world powers will remove some of the sanctions against Iran and no more sanctions will be imposed.
Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, has called on Iran to make a clear response to the package. However, Iran has now reportedly presented its own package.
Reports indicate that Iran’s proposal is based on the “step by step” plan previously presented by Moscow, and while it emphasizes the need for the world powers to recognize Iran’s right to uranium enrichment, it also calls for the removal of sanctions in exchange for a gradual halt to uranium enrichment at the 20 percent level.
Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful and it has every right to develop it as an NPT signatory.
