Iran does not want “talks for the sake of talks”: speaker

Mehr News:

Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said here on Saturday that Iran does not want mere talks with the European Union on the nuclear issue.

Speaking to reporters after officially welcoming the visiting President of Tajikistan's Assembly of Representatives, Saidullo Khairullayev, Haddad-Adel said, “We hope that the Europeans hold the same view toward the talks and continue negotiations more seriously.”

“I believe the Europeans have now come to the conclusion that merely negotiating to waste time is not what Iran wants,” he underlined.

“I think the Europeans are aware of the will of the Iranian nation and government to reach their rights and our behavior over the past few weeks has clearly proved that we are strictly against killing time and talks for the sake of talks.” READ MORE

He noted that negotiations should be held within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency charter and should focus on reaching a practical result with the aim of meeting Iran’s interests and building confidence.

In response to a question on what measures Iran would adopt if the Europeans set the suspension of enrichment activities during talks as their condition, the speaker said, "This issue should be left for the future. We have repeatedly announced our stance.

"We should wait to see what issues they (the Europeans) will raise. There is no reason to express our pessimism beforehand," he said as carried by IRNA.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Haddad-Adel assessed bilateral relations with Tajikistan as positive, expressing hope that mutual ties would receive further boost in all fields.
"Iran and Tajikistan enjoy deep-rooted historical, political and cultural commonalties. The two sides' officials have tried to expand bilateral cooperation since Tajikistan's independence," he said.

He hoped the two sides would promote bilateral parliamentary cooperation.

Khairullayev, for his part, expressed hope the visit by the Tajik parliamentary delegation to Tehran would help the two countries promote their national goals.

The visit by the president of Tajikistan's assembly of representatives to Iran is taking place at the official invitation of Mehdi Karrubi, the former Majlis speaker.