Brussels, 13/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - Iran and the E3+3 countries (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, the United States and Russia) will be meeting in Istanbul (Turkey) on Saturday 14 April for a new round of talks on the Iranian nuclear programme. On Friday 13 April, a spokesperson for the European Commission, Peter Stano, welcomed the fact that the talks were taking place as a way of meeting the concerns of the international community about Iran's nuclear programme, pointing out that they had been suspended for more than a year. He hoped the first round of talks would create a favourable environment for tangible progress.
On Thursday 12 April, the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the US president, Barack Obama, urged Iran to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the resumption of dialogue with the E3+3 to engage in serious talks and suspend all its controversial nuclear activities. On the same day, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, warned that Iran would stand firm on its fundamental rights and would not concede to even the strongest pressure. He told Iran's “enemies” and the “arrogant Western powers” that they must change their behaviour towards his country. (CG/transl.fl)