Brussels, 04/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - On a visit to Vienna last Sunday where he met Austrian president Heinz Fischer and Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, the Iranian president, Mohamed Khatami declared that Tehran still hoped to reach an agreement with the European Union on Iran's peaceful use of nuclear energy. Mr Khatami declared in a press conference that, “We are hoping to find a solution with the EU-3, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, which preserves our right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, but which also satisfies the concerns of our European colleagues” on military use. In an effort to provide reassurances to his European partners, President Khatami explained that Iran did not intend to obtain weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons given that it was a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty. He added that they had to ban weapons of mass destruction and that getting nuclear energy was necessary for his country to tackle the exhaustion of hydrocarbon fuel resources, “we need to keep our oil for future generations and protect ourselves from the negative effects of its use on the environment”. The Iranian president will be in Paris on Tuesday to meet President Chirac. Before this meeting, the French minister for foreign affairs, Michel Barnier will be meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Kamal Kharazi.
European and Iranian negotiators will also be discussion nuclear issues next week in Geneva, in a new negotiations session behind closed doors at an expert level.