Annex: Letter of 21 October 2011 from the High
Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
(HR) to the Iranian authorities
"H.E. Dr Saeed Jalili
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council
Islamic Republic of Iran
"Thank you for your letter of 6 September, in
reply to my letter of 4 July.
"I welcome your suggestion
to resume talks, in order to take fundamental steps for sustainable
cooperation. I am convinced that we need a continuous and long-term
process of building confidence and developing co-operation, which
will allow us to overcome the existing deficit of confidence in
the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme, and bring benefits
for all sides.
"In this context,
I can confirm that our overall goal remains a comprehensive negotiated,
long-term solution which restores international confidence in
the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme, while
respecting Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy
consistent with the NPT.
"In order to start
such a process, our initial objective is to engage in a confidence-building
exercise aimed at facilitating a constructive dialogue on the
basis of reciprocity and a step-by-step approach. In this regard,
we remain committed to the practical and specific suggestions
which we have put forward in the past. These confidence building
steps should form first elements of a phased approach which would
eventually lead to a full settlement between us, involving the
full implementation by Iran of UNSC and IAEA Board of Governors'
resolutions.
"We can achieve a
full settlement only by focussing on the key issue, which are
the concerns about the nature of your nuclear programme, as reflected
in IAEA reports, and by developing practical steps aimed at rebuilding
confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of your nuclear
programme. Meanwhile, we remain ready to also address other areas
of interest to you and to look into ideas you might put forward.
However, at this stage, the main focus of our efforts will have
to be on rebuilding confidence by developing concrete and practical
steps.
"When moving to continuation
of our talks, it is crucial to look for concrete results and not
to repeat the experience of Istanbul. We have to ensure that when
we meet again we can make real progress on the nuclear issue so
that both sides can draw concrete benefits.
"Against that background, if the Iranian side
is prepared to engage seriously in meaningful discussions on concrete
confidence building steps and demonstrate willingness to address
the international community's concerns about the nature of its
nuclear programme, without preconditions, we would be willing
to agree on a next meeting within the coming weeks at a mutually
convenient venue.
"Catherine Ashton
"Copy: H.E. Dr Ali-Akbar Salehi
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Islamic Republic of Iran"
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