Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said no deadline was agreed upon during last month's meeting between Iran and major powers for Tehran to answer a package of incentives, Iran's English-language satellite channel Press TV reported Thursday.
"No deadline was agreed upon during our meetings in Tehran," Mottaki was quoted as saying at a press conference following the final session of the 15th Ministerial Conference of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran late Wednesday.
"We delivered our opinions within a month and now they are obliged to announce their reaction," Mottaki said. "The Group 5+1 should live up to the agreements reached during their negotiations with Iranian officials in Tehran."
On June 14, visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana handed the offer of incentives to the Iranian authorities on behalf of UN Security Council permanent members -- France, Britain, Russia, China and the United States -- plus Germany (Group 5+1), in a bid to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment.
During the visit, Solana and representatives of five of the six main powers --- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- also took part in talks with senior Iranian officials.
Iran has also presented its own package of proposals, which is aimed to help resolve regional and international problems, including Iran's nuclear issue.
In early July, a letter signed by Mottaki concerning the package of incentives proposed by six major countries was delivered to Solana by Tehran's ambassador to Brussels.
Talks were held in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 19 between Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and Solana in the presence of U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns and senior diplomats from China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany.
In the meeting, Iran gave no clear answer to the package of incentives for suspending its nuclear program, though Western diplomats said the country was asked to make a response within two weeks.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack insisted Wednesday that Iran must give an answer by the weekend, saying "there are consequences diplomatically for defying the just demands of the Security Council."
(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2008)
