Kazakhstan wants a peaceful solution of the Iranian nuclear program under mediation of six states (Russia, China, US, France, UK and Germany), Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov said at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Beijing on Friday, RIA Novosti reports.
Using force to resolve the problem may result in unpredictable geopolitical, economic and ecological repercussions.
The IAEA and the six mediators have been trying to persuade Iran to scrap the nuclear program, because it threatens nuclear non-proliferation. Negotiations with the six mediators will start in mid-May, after a break lasting over a year.
Foreign ministers of 27 EU states met in Brussels on January 23 and approved the embargo on Iranian oil exports. The new package of sanctions includes a gradual ban on imports of petroleum from Iran. The embargo will come into full force on July 1. The EU also banned sales of gold, diamonds and precious metals from Iran. The new sanctions were inspired by a report of the IAEA, stating that Iran has been developing nuclear weapons before 2003. The US, Israel and a set of Western states suspect Iran of developing nuclear arms. Tehran insists that the nuclear program has peaceful nature.
Istanbul hosted negotiations of the six mediators on April 14. Catherine Ashton, High EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Said Jalili, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, attended the talks. The sides expressed satisfaction with the discussions, calling it constructive and fruitful. Another round of talks will be held in Baghdad on May 23.
