Iran Focus: London, Jun. 02 – Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee on Wednesday.
Iran Focus
London, Jun. 02 – Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee on Wednesday.
"The meeting will be an opportunity to discuss talks which the six (world powers) wish to relaunch with Iran on the question of nuclear proliferation", Sarkozy's office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia, and the United States said in April they would invite Iran to talks to try to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear row, but Tehran has so far rejected their overtures.
The Elysee said Sarkozy would see Mottaki at 16:30 local time.
Sarkozy is also due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday in France, and Iran is certain to be on the agenda.
Hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in May described Iran's nuclear dossier as a "closed case".
"The talks outside the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] will only be about participation in the management of the world and bringing peace to the world", Ahmadinejad said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 20 May said multilateral sanctions might be better if diplomacy eventually fails, rather than additional U.S. measures now.
Clinton said pursuing engagement with Iran was partly aimed at increasing the chances that countries such as China and Russia would support additional economic sanctions if talks fail.
The UN Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran, in December 2006, March 2007 and March 2008.
Based in part on wire reports
