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Daily Press Briefing Statements made by [Please note that only the original French text issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be considered official.] IRAN/NUCLEAR POWER
Q – The IAEA Board of Governors interrupted its meeting on Iran. When do you expect the meeting to resume and what do you expect it to accomplish?
The meeting was interrupted in the usual way at the end of the day, to allow the delegations to consult with their capitals, and should resume this afternoon.
We took note of the overtures made by President Ahmadinejad indicating that Iran was willing to continue discussions with the European Union.
As the minister indicated yesterday, we and our European partners, in conjunction with the IAEA, are prepared to pursue discussions with the Iranian authorities.
For that, we call on the Iranians to immediately return to the framework of the Paris agreement, in particular the IAEA-verified suspension of all sensitive nuclear activities including conversion. That is necessary in order to rebuild the international community’s trust and permit the resumption of negotiations.
In this regard, we are naturally prepared to discuss, during the negotiations, all new ideas or proposals that could lead to a long-term agreement.
We would point out that the Paris agreement confirms Iran’s right to have a civilian nuclear program in compliance with the NPT. It is in this spirit, apart from offers in the political, economic and technological arenas, that the Europeans offered support for Iran’s development of its civilian nuclear program in conditions guaranteeing its security, economic viability and non-proliferation. Our offer remains on the table and we invite Iran to take the time to study it seriously.
Q – How are you going to convince the other IAEA board members of the European troika’s position?
Discussions to this end are currently under way at the Board of Governors meeting.
Q – What do you think about the arrest of several journalists in Chad?
It is obviously not our role to talk about procedures in a foreign country, but as a general rule, you are aware of France’s resolute attachment to freedom of expression in general and to the freedom of the press in particular, throughout the world.
Q – Indeed, doesn’t France’s “resolute attachment to freedom of expression in general and to the freedom of the press in particular” lead you, for example, to call for their release as you have done in other cases?
We have had the opportunity to raise this subject in our dialogue with the Chadian authorities./.
Embassy of France, August 10, 2005
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