Talks between six world powers in China on how to curb Iran's nuclear
ambitions end without resolution.

 SHANGHAI, CHINA (APRIL 16, 2008) REUTERS-

Talks between six world powers on whether to offer stronger
incentives to Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions ended in the Chinese city of
Shanghai on Wednesday (April 16) without any resolution.
    The Chinese delegate to the meeting, Chinese assistant foreign minister
He Yafei (pron: her-yar-fay) told reporters at a news conference after the
meeting the talks were constructive but the negotiators did not reach a final
agreement.
    The gathering was of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security
Council -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- plus
Germany and an EU representative.
    The Chinese official added that the negotiators, a tier below minister
level, would report back to their governments and continue discussions among
themselves.
    "We can say we agreed on the main content of a plan to restart
negotiations, but not all the problems have been resolved. We have also
discussed how we can move forward to the next step of starting negotiations
with Iran. We will report back to our various foreign ministers on the
discussions today," He told the news conference.
    "But on the whole, the six countries agreed that we should
increase our diplomatic efforts on this issue. We should work creatively to
seek a full and long-term solution to solve the issue of Iran's nuclear
programme," He added.
    When asked about the details of the closed-door meeting, He said he
could not elaborate on the details of their discussions or whether they
included additional incentives for Iran.
    "I cannot disclose the details of our discussions but I can say
for certain that once we reach a consensus on the issue, we will first of all
be talking to Iran." he said.
    Tehran insists it has the right to enrich uranium, which it says is to
generate electricity. But the United States, Western European powers and their
supporters fear Iran's enrichment could give it the means to make nuclear
weapons.
    KB/JRC