Iran welcomes nuclear talks, awaits West's response

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (right) greets his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, during a welcoming ceremony in Tehran Tuesday. Photo: AFP

While Iran was in the eighth round of energy talks Tuesday with Venezuela, its alleged nuclear ambitions were listed as the top concern of Washington and Tel Aviv.

Iran is still waiting for a response from Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for common foreign and security policy, on preconditions cited before discussions can resume, the Jerusalem Post quoted Ramin Mehmanparast, a spokesman of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as saying Tuesday.

Mehmanparast said Iran welcomes any "fair and purposeful" talks with the West over its nuclear program and plans.

Although Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, Washington and Tel Aviv fear the program masks a drive to build nuclear weapons.

In a joint statement Monday, the US and Israel claimed that Iran is still one of the greatest challenges they face in the Middle East.

Also Tuesday, Ma Zhaoxu, spokesman of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged related parties to step up diplomatic efforts to bring the Iranian nuclear talks back on track.

Xue Li, deputy director for the Department of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that the Iranian nuclear issue exists because there is still a crisis of trust between Iran and the West.

"If the 5+1 group could ensure that there will be no non-peaceful means to undermine Iran's national security, while Iran guarantees full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in its nuclear program, the issue can be easily resolved," Xue said.

Meanwhile, Iran has been trying to develop positive relations with neighboring countries.

Last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Lebanon to boost ties on trade, energy and agriculture.

Egypt and Iran agreed to restart direct flights that had been halted for 30 years. A trilateral summit involving Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan was also held last month to discuss cooperation, cultural and political issues and terrorism.

Reuters