Gulf: Iran says ready for 'constructive' nuclear dialogue
22 Apr 2009 9:05 PM
Eds: reissuing to correct keyword
TEHRAN, April 22 AFP - Iran is ready for "constructive dialogue" with world powers on its nuclear drive, local news agencies on Wednesday quoted chief nuclear negotiator Said Jalili as saying.
"By updating last year's package, the Islamic republic is announcing its readiness for constructive dialogue and interaction," he said.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week that Tehran would offer a new package for negotiations aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff, after world powers called for for dialogue with Iran.
On Monday, Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Geneva that he welcomed the shift in US policy towards Tehran after three decades of severed ties, describing it as "necessary" but that he was awaiting "practical changes".
However, he indicated that Iran would not stop its nuclear program.
Western powers fear that Iran's nuclear drive could be a cover for efforts to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it is aimed purely at generating electricity for a growing population.
Jalili's comments come after a chorus of Western outrage over the latest anti-Israel outburst by Ahmadinejad at a UN racism conference in Geneva on Monday.
Last week, Ahmadinejad said Iran's package of proposals would be presented to the so-called P5+1 group -- UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany.
He said the package was a new version of proposals offered by Iran in May 2008, which it described as an all-embracing attempt to solve the problems of the world, and suggested setting up consortiums to enrich uranium and manufacturing nuclear fuel, including one in Iran.
