BRUSSELS– EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on Thursday that Europe is awaiting the new U.S. administration to enter direct talks with Tehran instead of focusing on global warming,.

U.S. president Elect Barack obama vowed during his election campaign that he will enter direct negotiations with Tehran without preconditions.
“Our expectation of Barack Obama is… to take a look at the Middle East and sit for direct talks with Iran,” Ferrero-Waldner told a group of Iranian journalists who were on tour of Brussels.
She said the European Union is not happy with the current level of ties with Iran. She blamed differences over Tehran’s nuclear program for such a situation.
Nuclear enrichment is main bone of contention between Iran and the West. Iran as a signatory to the non-proliferation regime is legally allowed to do enrichment.
She argued that the EU respects Iran’s legal right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
She claimed that there are certain ambiguities about Iran’s nuclear activities which Tehran has not still provided “convincing responses” about them.
Under a modality plan Iran provided answers to all questions raised by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuclear program.
Only certain European countries, mainly Britain and France and Germany, oppose Iran’s nuclear enrichment work.
The Non-Aligned Movement which includes 118 member countries has thrown its back behind Iran’s nuclear program for civilian uses.
However, Ferrero-Waldner claimed that international community is “united” against Iran’s nuclear work.
Elsewhere in his talks with Iranian journalists, she called Iran a civilized nation with an ancient history which the 27-strong EU bloc is willing to extend cooperation with.
The commissioner also added that EU wants to launch a Persian TV to establish direct contact with Iranian people because she said realities are not reflected truly