The G8 said yesterday it wanted a "clear and substantive" reply from Iran to an offer by major powers over its nuclear programs.
"We are disappointed in the absence of an official Iranian response to the positive proposal. We expect to hear a clear and substantive Iranian response to these proposals at the planned meeting [with EU foreign policy chief] Javier Solana ... on 5 July and to bring these discussions to a rapid conclusion," a G8 foreign ministers communique said.
"We expect in the swiftest possible time a concrete and official answer from Tehran to the offer," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.
Lavrov, speaking after foreign ministers from the G8 countries held talks in Moscow, also said the G8 called on all parties in the Middle East to calm the situation and return to talks as Israel prepared for an offensive in Gaza aimed at freeing an abducted soldier.
Arriving at the talks, Solana said he would meet Iranian officials, probably next Wednesday, to discuss proposals aimed at allaying Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear program.
In Tehran, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larjani said he would meet Solana in Spain.
Iran has still not said whether it would accept a package of incentives given to it on June 6 by the five permanent, veto-wielding UN Security Council members -- the US, Britain, France, China and Russia -- and Germany.
The US has accused Iran of having a secret program to build nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge, saying its program is solely for power generation.
Iran's nuclear plans were the focus of talks between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and foreign ministers from Russia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain who were in Moscow to prepare for a G8 summit next month.
The ministers issued a statement yesterday.
"The statement will have language that we hope and expect to get an answer soon," said a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity before the statement was issued.
It would also indicate G8 disappointment that Iran has not, so far, formally responded to the package of incentives designed to get it to curb its nuclear development, the diplomat said.
Tehran has said it would respond by August 22. The US and the EU have suggested they would like a response before the G8 summit begins on July 15.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (
An EU official with knowledge of the G8 talks said that the initial session in a 19th century former merchant's mansion in Moscow focused on Iran and the next steps to take.
The "EU3" -- Britain, France and Germany -- who spearhead Europe's diplomacy with Iran held separate talks beforehand.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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