European Union (EU) and U.S. leaders on Tuesday urged Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and cooperate in the fight against terrorism.
"We expect Iran to comply with its international obligations concerning its nuclear activities, including the full and verifiable suspension of (uranium) enrichment and full cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)," said a draft declaration of the EU-U.S. summit.
Meanwhile, the leaders reiterated their carrot-and-stick approach to this issue.
"We affirm the dual track strategy on this issue which was reinforced by the incentives package and reiterate our belief that a mutually satisfactory, negotiated solution remains open to Iran," said the document.
"At the same time, we will fully and effectively implement UN Security Council resolutions ... and we are ready to supplement those sanctions with additional measures," the leaders said.
The United States and the EU claim that Iran intends to produce nuclear weapons. However, Tehran insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The UN Security Council has passed several resolutions to impose sanctions on Iran.
The EU and U.S. leaders on Tuesday also expressed concern over Tehran's alleged support for terrorism.
"We call upon the government of Iran to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. We reiterate our concern about Iran's regional policies, especially its continued support for terrorist organizations, and call on Iran to play a responsible and constructive role in the region," said the draft declaration.
Iran's nuclear program is one of the major issues at the EU-U.S. summit as well as Bush's subsequent visits to Berlin, Paris and London.
EU's foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana is to travel to Iran later this week to present a new proposal from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, which provides incentives in exchange for Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment. But attractiveness of the incentives remains to be seen.
Source:Xinhua
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