U.S. Relations with the People's Republic of China (2005)

U.S. Department of State

Special Briefing
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
November 21, 2005

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns On Renewed U.S. Commitment to the Balkans

(3:55 p.m. EST)

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QUESTION: Can we talk about Iran for a second?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: What would you like to know about Iran?

QUESTION: Reports are that there has already been a decision made by the EU-3 and by the United States, that they will not seek a referral at Thursday's IAEA BOG meeting. Would you say that that decision has been made or is your diplomacy still working on bringing the Russians and the Chinese along?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I will say this: I was in London on Friday for talks with the European-3 as well as the EU, as well as Russia and China and India. We had excellent discussions. What is clear to me from those discussions is that Iran is quite isolated. There's not a single one of those countries who wants Iran to achieve a nuclear weapons capability. There is not a single one of those countries who wants Iran to proceed with advanced nuclear research. None of those countries say that they want Iran to enrich or reprocess. All the countries would prefer a solution of the type that Secretary Rice discussed in her press conference in China yesterday and that Steve Hadley discussed the day before and that is some kind of arrangement where if Iran is to have the benefit of peaceful nuclear power -- nuclear energy, I should say -- in the future, the sensitive parts of the nuclear fuel cycle would take place outside the territory of Iran. And what I heard in those conversations in London on Friday was agreement that those are the essential elements of some type of negotiation.

Now, what I also heard is that the European Union is open to further negotiations and further discussions with the Iranian Government. Of course, you know the Russian Government has been in contact with the Iranian Government, so it's a period of great fluidity diplomatically. And I was encouraged by those discussions on Friday because I think that there is a wider circle of countries now working all together to send one message to Iran, and that is that the international community is concerned about the statements made by the Iranian President, concerned by some of the decisions made by the current Iranian Government, specifically, the decision to walk away from the talks with the European Union.

And it's going to be -- it'd have to be up to the EU-3 to decide essentially, now how do they want to proceed because there is an IAEA Board of Governors meeting on Thursday and Friday of this week, but there's also at least the possibility and the desirability, I should say, of further discussions with Iran. And since we are not party to these negotiations, the United States is not at the table. We are not one of the countries talking to Iran, of course, as you know that.

I think it's best that the EU-3, which state publicly what they wish to do and then we would be in support of either future negotiations, future discussions or any other alternative that they would like to choose and that's where I left it with them on Friday and I know we'll be back in touch with them tomorrow for further discussions. But that just builds on what Secretary Rice said yesterday and I'd refer you to her remarks and also what Steve Hadley said over the weekend. Both of them spoke to this issue, if you look at the transcripts from the briefings.

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