Bloomberg: United Nations allies meeting in Berlin agreed on a draft resolution outlining further sanctions against Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
By Patrick Donahue and Andreas Cremer
Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) — United Nations allies meeting in Berlin agreed on a draft resolution outlining further sanctions against Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
“We jointly agreed today on the contents of a resolution,” Steinmeier said at a press conference after the talks. “We are in agreement that a nuclear weapon in Iran’s hands would have dramatic consequences for the region.”
Germany, France and the U.K. will propose a draft resolution to the UN Security Council, Steinmeier said, adding that further talks with fellow council members “can then begin in the coming weeks.”
The five veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council — the U.S., U.K., France, China and Russia — plus Germany held talks in Berlin to try and forge a consensus on pressuring Iran to halt its nuclear program. The U.S. was seeking support for a third round of sanctions in the face of opposition from Russia and China.
“The U.S. is very pleased,” Nicholas Burns, the top U.S. negotiator in talks aimed at thwarting Iran’s nuclear program, told reporters in Berlin. “It extends the sanctions and is a very swift reminder to the Iranians that the six are united.”
Steinmeier said it remains “in the hands of Tehran to seek the path of cooperation and reconciliation.” UN members “expect” that Iran will do so in coming weeks with the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, he said.
Iran pledged to provide the IAEA with all remaining information on the country’s past nuclear programs within four weeks, after IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei met with the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Jan. 13.
