MP Urges Review of Iran-France Trade Ties
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian parliamentarian called on the government to review its economic relations with Paris in case it continued to make trouble in the course of nuclear talks between Tehran and six world powers.
“The administration should somehow caution France that it (Iran) will review its trade and economic relations with that country (France) if such trend continues,” Majid Mansouri, member of the Iranian parliament’s industries and mines commission, told Tasnim on Sunday.
This comes after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told France Inter radio on Saturday that there were major stumbling blocks in an initial proposed text on a nuclear deal with Iran, despite optimism from other countries negotiating with Iran.
Iran and the G5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) wrapped up three days of intensive talks over Tehran’s nuclear program in the Swiss city of Geneva early on Sunday.
The tight negotiations, which started on Thursday, dragged into Sunday amid division among the G5+1 members.
Failing to agree on a deal, the sides have agreed to resume talks on November 20, again in Geneva.
The French minister poured cold water on hopes that a deal on Iran's nuclear program would be hammered out at Geneva talks. Speaking on French radio, Fabius said there was "no certainty" of any agreement as there were "some points with which we are not satisfied".
"There is an initial draft that we don't accept... at the moment I have no certainty that we can reach a conclusion," the French minister said on Saturday morning.
And before a joint press conference between top negotiators representing Iran and the G5+1 early on Sunday, Fabius said the three days of negotiations had ended without a deal.
"The meetings in Geneva have made it possible to move forward... But we have not yet managed to conclude, because there are still some questions remaining to be dealt with," he said.
Declining to criticize his French counterpart, Iran's foreign minister said: “Obviously the six countries may have differences of views, but we are working together, and hopefully we will be able to reach an agreement when we meet again.”
Comments by the French minister were in contrast to those by his American and British counterparts.
"We have not only narrowed differences and clarified those that remain but we made significant progress in working through the approaches to this question of how one reins in a programme and guarantees its peaceful nature," said Kerry after the talks.
"There is no question in my mind that we are closer now than we were before."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague was also optimistic about the talks, although they failed to result in an agreement. He said that he believed progress had been made in Geneva and it was vital to keep up the momentum.
