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EU unfazed by Iranian-Russian
deal
By Ahto Lobjakas
BRUSSELS - The European Union has firmly
rejected suggestions that a deal on February 27
between Iran and Russia came as a surprise to the
bloc. Although officials say there has been no
"formal" coordination of respective EU and Russian
approaches to Iran, they say Moscow warned
Brussels well in advance of the deal.
Emma
Udwin, external relations spokeswoman at the
commission, told reporters in Brussels on February
28 that the two approaches were compatible.
"Insofar as we have the details," Udwin said, "our
understanding is that the recent deal between Iran
and Russia is compatible with our own approach,
since both sides have made it clear that they will
fully respect international rules and regulations
on non-proliferation, and most importantly that
Bushehr will operate under the close supervision
of the IAEA [the International Atomic Energy
Agency]."
Udwin said Russia had repeatedly
assured the EU that it shared the objective of
preventing Iran from becoming a "militarily
nuclear state".
The EU is likely to obtain
more details on the Bushehr deal at a foreign
ministers' level meeting with Russia in Luxembourg
this week.
Officials in Brussels said they
assumed that under the deal, Russia would provide
Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility with enriched
uranium and repatriate the spent fuel after
reprocessing.
The EU's own negotiating
effort, led by Britain, Germany and France, has
featured similar offers. However, Iran has time
and again stressed it had only agreed to suspend
enrichment activities for the duration of the
talks. Iranian officials also point out that as a
signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
it is entitled to enrich its own nuclear fuel.
Neither the EU nor the United States
believes this would yield sufficient guarantees
that Iran would not try to assemble its own
nuclear weapon. Therefore, in the words of one EU
official, who asked not to be named, the shared
aim for the EU and the US is to "stop the cycle".
There is, however, a crucial difference
between the EU and US positions. The US does not
agree that Iran needs a nuclear industry at all,
pointing to the country's vast resources of oil
and gas.
Udwin on February 28 reiterated a
contrary EU stance. "While we believe very firmly
that it is important for all sides to avoid Iran
becoming a militarily nuclear state," Udwin said,
"we as the EU have never contested Iran's right to
develop civilian power."
EU officials said
on February 28 that US President George W Bush
last week had indicated verbal support for the
EU-led diplomatic approach. He also said the US
had no immediate intention of attacking Iran -
though he said all options remained on the table.
A report in The Washington Post on
February 28 said Bush this week may signal
stronger public support for the EU's diplomatic
efforts, in the short term at least. It is not
clear at this stage, what, if anything, the US is
prepared to offer Iran. In the past, Iran has
indicated it wants some kind of security
guarantees.
An EU official told RFE/RL on
February 28 that the EU was offering Iran mainly
economic incentives - "closer engagement to help
them deal with the economic and social
difficulties". The official noted 750,000 new
jobseekers entered Iran's labor market every year.
EU assistance could take the form of a trade and
cooperation agreement - which is currently being
negotiated. The EU has also been lobbying the US
to unblock Iran's path to becoming a member of the
World Trade Organization (WTO).
Last week,
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, "The
president is considering ideas that were discussed
in Europe for moving forward on our efforts to get
Iran to end its pursuit of nuclear weapons and
abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions."
Possible incentives to Iran include
membership of the WTO, which would make Teheran
part of the world trading system and give it
greater international legitimacy. It could also
include providing Teheran an Airbus and hold out
the prospect of more aircraft deliveries if the
talks were successfully concluded.
Copyright (c) 2005, RFE/RL Inc.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20036 |
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