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No sanctions discussed at Iran-Security Council meeting

07 May 2010 04:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Representatives of UN Security Council member states did not discuss sanctions at a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister on Friday, Japan’s UN envoy told journalists, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.
Manouchehr Mottaki met with representatives of Security Council member states in Iran’s mission to the UN early on Friday.
"We did not conduct negotiations, it was just an exchange of ideas. There were no talks on sanctions, but the conversation was frank. It is important that almost all Security Council members took part," Yukio Takasu said.
Four of the five permanent Security Council members - Russia, the U.S., the U.K. and France - sent their deputy UN ambassadors to the meeting. China, the fifth veto-wielding Security Council member, set its UN Ambassador Li Baodong.
Several non-permanent members, namely Austria, Turkey, Brazil, Japan and Mexico, also sent their U.N. ambassadors to the discussion.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that his country was ready to resume talks on the exchange of its 3.5%-enriched uranium for 20%-enriched fuel.
The statement came as the six international mediators on the Islamic Republic’s controversial nuclear program - Russia, the U.S., Britain, Germany, France and China - have begun discussing the text of the resolution to impose harsher sanctions on Iran over its continuing nuclear activities.
Western powers accuse Iran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program.