Iran willing to stop n-enrichment if its enriched fuel needs are met
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that his country would be prepared to stop high-grade uranium enrichment if the six world powers agree to meet its needs for the fuel.
Ahmadinejad made the comments as world powers began two days of talks with Iran on Monday to try to end the stand-off over its nuclear program which the West suspects to be weapons oriented, a claim Tehran has denied.
"From the beginning the Islamic Republic has stated that if European countries provided 20 per cent enriched fuel for Iran, it would not enrich to this level," Ahmadinejad said in comments published on his presidential website.
The talks in Moscow are being held after two rounds of negotiations. The talks resumed in April following a 15-month hiatus.
The West wants Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium to 20 per cent purity as experts consider that it is enough to achieve the ability to create a nuclear bomb.
The world powers voiced optimism that the Moscow talks would yield desired results.
"The atmosphere was fine, business-like and good. We hope this translates into a serious political commitment by the Iranians to address our proposals," a European Union spokesman was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Meanwhile, a German daily reported that President Ahmadinejad would leave politics when his second term comes to an end.
"Eight years are enough," the Iranian leader told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, according to CNN.
He's barred by law from seeking a third consecutive term in 2013.
Source: Russia News.Net
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