World powers would not negotiate with Iran over its disputed nuclear program unless Tehran suspended its uranium enrichment activities, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on Wednesday after Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani delivered an official response to the six-nation package of proposals on resolving the international nuclear dispute Tuesday.
"I want to point out again that France is available to negotiate," Douste-Blazy told a joint news conference with visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
"As we have always said ... a return to the negotiating table is tied to the suspension of uranium enrichment," he said.
"The Iranians know the rules of the game -- first, a suspension of sensitive nuclear activities," he said.
"We have requested a meeting with our European partners, in particular the member of the EU-3 (France, Britain and Germany) and also (EU foreign policy chief) Javier Solana ... We have firmly reacted to the Iranian nuclear issue," Douste-Blazy added.
He said France was studying Iran's response to an offer made by Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States for economic and nuclear cooperation in exchange for a halt to Tehran's nuclear program.
The United States said on Wednesday that Iran's response fell short of the conditions of a UN Security Council resolution.
"The response however, falls short of the conditions set by the Security Council, which require the full and verifiable suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities," State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said in a statement.
"We acknowledge that Iran considers its response as a serious offer, and we will review it," the statement said.
The United States is consulting closely with other members of the Security Council over what the next steps should be, the statement added.
Earlier Wednesday, the White House said that it is carefully reviewing Iran's response.
"We're giving it careful consideration and a careful review, as it deserves," White House deputy spokeswoman Dana Perino told the media.
"The Security Council made clear what its position was, and we're going to parse through and look at their response before responding fully," Perino said.
Russia will continue to seek a political solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, said the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
"Russia will continue the course of searching for a political solution to the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program, and will continue to seek to preserve the role of the IAEA and prevent the erosion of the nonproliferation regime," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
Russia is studying the Iranian reply and ready "to continue to use the multilateral mechanisms and the potential of the UN Security Council as well as bilateral contacts with Iran" to find a political solution, Kamynin said.
To lure Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment, Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany put forward an international package in mid-June offering incentives and multilateral talks to Iran.
The package reportedly included talks with the United States, Western help to build nuclear reactors for Iran, a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel and permission for Iran to buy aircraft and spare parts if Tehran suspends uranium enrichment.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani on Tuesday submitted Iran's formal response to the envoys from China, Russia, France, Germany, Britain and Switzerland, which is representing the United States as Washington has no diplomatic relations with Tehran.
No details of the reply were available for the time being, but officials close to the meeting said the response had offered a "new formula" to resolve the issue.
Larijani said Iran was ready for "serious talks." The UN Security Council has given Iran a deadline of Aug. 31 to cease all uranium enrichment activities.
(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2006)
