Brussels, 30/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - After three weeks of bitter negotiations between its five permanent members: USA, France, United Kingdom, China and Russia (and Germany), the UN Security Council adopted a presidential declaration by unanimity on 30 March giving Iran 30 days to comply with the demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and therefore, suspend all activities linked with the enrichment of uranium, in an effort to “restore the confidence” of the international community “”in the peaceful character of its nuclear programme”. At the end of this deadline, the Director of the IAEA, Mohamed El Baradei, is expected to submit a report to the Security Council and the governing board of the IAEA “on Iran's follow-up”. Under pressure from Russia and China, Iran's strategic energy partners hostile to possible sanctions against Tehran, the presidential declaration did not make any reference to the measures that the Security Council should take if Tehran does not comply. The USA and Europeans on one side and China and Russia on the other, have opposed each other for a long time on the role the Security Council ought to play in the Iran saga. Beijing and Moscow want to strictly limit it to supporting the IAEA. As well as the extension given to Tehran (from 15 to 30 days), China and Russia succeeded in getting the text to omit any reference to the Iranian nuclear programme constituting a threat to international peace. If Tehran does not cooperate, the US and Europeans are now planning on the adoption of a more legally binding resolution, in the form of a ban on travelling and the freezing of assets. Beijing and Moscow have already opposed this kind of measure.
Meeting on Thursday in Berlin to attempt to reduce their divergences and discuss a more long term strategy on Iranian nuclear goals, the Heads of diplomacy from the five permanent members of the Security Council, as well as Germany, pointed to the support of the international community for finding a “diplomatic solution” to the Iranian dossier. The declaration of German Foreign Affairs Minister Franck-Walter Steinmeier stated, “We fully recognise the legitimate right of Iran under the NPT to develop a safe and sustainable civilian nuclear programme. At the same time, it is our conviction that there is a need for an extensive period of confidence-building to convince the international community of the exclusively peaceful purpose of its nuclear programme. He added, “we therefore urgently call on Iran to address international concerns through a diplomatic solution and to suspend all enrichment-related activities to allow a return to the negotiating table”.