EU wary on new Iran sanctions, waits for UN discussions (Roundup)

Jan 25, 2010, 17:32 GMT

Brussels - European Union foreign ministers on Monday backed away from threatening Iran with fresh sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme, saying that the bloc should only bring in new restrictions if the United Nations Security Council asked.

The EU has already hit Iran with a range of sanctions, but these have not been enough to stop the programme, leading some member states to question whether further punishment would have any effect.

'We need to see what comes out of the Security Council discussions and the role the members play and then return to the subject,' the bloc's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told journalists in Brussels, after meeting with EU foreign ministers.

Sweden's Carl Bildt seemed to agree, as he spoke to the press before the talks with his counterparts.

'The sanction instrument is a very blunt one, so it should be used with extreme care,' he stated.

'Our aim is to get the Iranians to the negotiating table and have a political solution, and if there are any ... sanctions which can reinforce that possibility, I'm ready to look at them,' Bildt added.

The EU has targeted Iran with a series of sanctions since the country stopped cooperating with the UN's nuclear watchdog. They range from asset freezes on banks and key figures linked to the nuclear programme, to embargoes on exports of arms and equipment.

The revelation at the end of 2009 that Iran had built a further nuclear enrichment facility near Qom led to calls for further restrictive measures.

But in her press conference, Ashton was reluctant even to use the word 'sanctions.'

'There will be a discussion about 'what else?', 'what next?'. I won't preempt that discussion, suffice to say that it's time to have that discussion and then (EU ministers) will consider the results,' she argued.

Estonia's Urmas Paet insisted the bloc should not move on the matter without the support of the world's greatest powers.

'With Iran, (sanctions) will work out only if all the UN Security Council permanent members agree. ... The EU is ready to do it, but to get really functioning sanctions, we need all big players in the world to be united behind this decision,' he stressed.

Monday's debate came six weeks after EU leaders called on Iran to shut down its controversial uranium-enrichment programme.

Ashton lamented Tehran's 'reluctance' to engage with the international community, its 'insufficient cooperation' with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and recalled 'it did not respond favourably' to the compromise proposal of having the enriched fuel it needs for its supposedly civilian nuclear programme supplied by Russia.

'Iran's persistent failure to meet its international obligations and Iran's apparent lack of interest in pursuing negotiations require a clear response, including through appropriate measures,' EU leaders said in December, asking their foreign ministers to 'consider options for next steps' at Monday's meeting.