Thank you Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate, Mr. Senator. You are bringing up an issue that has extremely grave consequences for world peace and stability: the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.
First of all, North Korea. We have asked that country very clearly to respect its commitments and international obligations as they relate to non-proliferation, and that it undertake the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of its nuclear programs within the framework of the multilateral non-proliferation system.
In response to your question, I want to reiterate our support for the political and diplomatic process currently under way, which is seeking through diplomacy the resolution of the North Korean nuclear question.
We therefore urge North Korea to resume talks immediately and without preconditions after nearly a year that has seen no progress in these negotiations.
Then there is Iran, in which European—and particularly French, German and English—diplomats, along with Javier Solana, have also embarked on a diplomatic process, which is the best possible option. In these negotiations, we are moving forward open-eyed with Iran. Our objective has always been clear: deterring that important country from developing the capability of producing fissile material that could eventually be used to manufacture a nuclear weapon.
On November 15, European diplomacy scored an initial success when Iran agreed to sign the Paris Agreement. Suspending all dangerous activities, it pledged full transparency and cooperation with the IAEA. On this basis, we initiated complex, difficult negotiations with Iran, once again with our eyes wide open, in order to obtain objective guarantees for the international community. Indeed, that is what’s important: that the Iranian program have no other purpose than an exclusively peaceful one.
The entire international community supports us: Not only Europe, which stands in solidarity with us, but also the United States, Russia, China and the G8. Naturally, we must take care to preserve this international support, which is crucial.
A few days ago, Iran announced that it would resume certain sensitive activities that are currently suspended. In concluding, Mr. President, I simply want to say that this decision runs counter to the Paris Agreement and the resolutions adopted by the IAEA. We want to stress this position to the authorities in Teheran, and we continue to hope that Iran will not take this step, whose consequences it is well aware of.
