Iran hosts Chinese envoy, says ready for nuclear talks

Feb 13, 2012, 12:07 GMT

Tehran - Iran is ready to hold nuclear talks with world powers but will not tolerate undue pressure from them, Iran's chief negotiator said Monday after holding talks with China's deputy foreign minister, Ma Zhaoxu.

'Talks on the basis of pressure will not yield any results, but we need to hold the talks in a way that both sides end up in a win-win situation,' Iran's deputy nuclear negotiator, Ali Baqeri, was quoted by state television network IRIB as saying.

While Tehran says it is ready to resume nuclear talks with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, it insists it will not accept their main demand - a temporary suspension in uranium enrichment until the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme has been proven.

'We do not want to give in to any pressure, but have our own initiative in the talks,' Baqeri said, without providing further details on what such Iranian initiatives might be.

China and Russia are in favour of resuming nuclear talks with Tehran, but have called on Tehran to soften its uncompromising stance.

While rejecting any compromise, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday announced a series of new nuclear projects, including a possible new uranium enrichment site at Fordo, south of the capital Tehran.

Iran insists that its nuclear programmes are for civil and peaceful purposes, but the West fears that Tehran's atomic technology could be used for military reasons as well.

Iran, which is a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, says it wants world powers to acknowledge its right to pursue nuclear programmes.

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