Solana says to meet Larijani on nuclear offer

June 24, 2006 - 0:0
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Thursday he expected to meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator again in the next week to explain a U.S.-backed European plan to reward Tehran if it ends nuclear activities.

Solana, who delivered the package of proposed incentives to Iran on behalf of major world powers on June 6, said he had spoken to Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, at length by telephone on Wednesday.

"I can tell you that I expect to meet in the coming days -- next week probably -- with Mr. Larijani," he told reporters, without saying where the meeting would take place.

An EU official said Solana was willing to go to Tehran or meet Larijani elsewhere to provide further explanations of the proposed political, economic and technological incentives, conditional on Iran suspending uranium enrichment and related activities, but it would not be a negotiation.

In Tehran, Iranian officials said they would welcome a meeting with the EU to discuss what Larijani has described as "ambiguities" in the proposals.

He has said the issue of enrichment is one point that needs clarification.

Senior Western diplomats in Tehran said a meeting could help clear up any questions Iran has, but could not be used to reopen the terms of the package proposed by Britain, Germany and France and the European Union, with the backing of the United States, Russia and China.