Countries leading the drive to resolve concerns about Iran’s nuclear program welcomed on Wednesday the new US administration’s readiness to engage with Tehran, a German official said.
Foreign Ministry officials from Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the UK, China, France, Russia and the US — met on Wednesday in Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, for their first meeting since US President Barack Obama took office.
US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice has said Obama’s administration would engage in “direct diplomacy” with Iran. In his inaugural address, Obama addressed leaders of hostile countries by saying that “we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
The US was represented at the closed-doors meeting by the US State Department’s third-ranking official, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns — a career diplomat who also served under the administration of former president George W. Bush.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Burns would report back directly to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on his discussions in Wiesbaden. Wood said Burns was not able to tell the meeting how soon the Obama administration would complete its review of US policy on Iran.
“Obviously, he’s not able to communicate any kind of timeframe,” Wood said. “As I said, that process will have to run its course, but obviously, we’re very committed to trying to do it as swiftly as possible.”
“The readiness of the new administration to reach out to Iran was explicitly welcomed by all at today’s meeting in Wiesbaden,” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said at a government news conference in Berlin.
He underlined Germany’s hopes that Iran would respond positively to the new overtures from Washington.
“We hope that this outstretched hand will not be seen as a sign of weakness in Tehran,” he said.
Ploetner said Wednesday’s meeting offered “an important opportunity to stress again the cohesion and the unity” of the six countries.
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