EU: EU foreign ministers called for further dialogue with Iran over its nuclear programme yesterday, delaying any early move towards a UN resolution imposing sanctions.
Despite US pressure this week for Europe to take a tough stance on Iran, European ministers meeting in Finland urged patience.
"For the EU, diplomacy remains the number one way forward," said Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, who is hosting the two-day meeting as his country holds the rotating EU presidency.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he would meet Iran's chief negotiator, Ali Larijani, next week to clarify whether there was a chance that Iran could accept an offer of support from the international community if it stops enriching uranium - a process that can provide the raw material for an atomic bomb.
Mr Solana shrugged off talk of sanctions at this stage, saying: "I am the person who is going to talk to Iran soon, so I don't want to put myself in a position of failure."
EU ministers will continue their discussions on Iran's nuclear programme later today when Mr Solana delivers a briefing on Iran's 21-page response to claims that it was pursuing a programme that could enable it to build nuclear weapons.
Iran denies that its pursuit of uranium enrichment is intended for military purposes, insisting that it is purely an energy project. But diplomats have said that vague Iranian responses on the nature of its nuclear programme may just be an attempt to stall any move towards imposing sanctions.
On Thursday the path towards future sanctions was opened up when the UN Security Council received a negative report on Iran's actions from Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The security council is due to meet next week to begin discussions on a new resolution to impose sanctions, but these negotiations could take months. US president George Bush issued his strongest indictment of Iran to date on Thursday and is pressing the EU to support America's stance in favour of a quick move towards imposing sanctions.
However, any such move is now a long way off, with the EU pursuing further negotiations and Russia and China likely to veto a resolution on sanctions. Both countries have close economic ties with Iran and have a veto at the security council.
Meanwhile, EU ministers also debated ways to kick-start the Middle East peace process and hinted they would be in a position to talk with a new government of national unity in the Palestinian Territories.
The EU stopped talking to, and froze financial support for, the Hamas-led government in the region earlier this year when it failed to renounce violence and recognise Israel.
President Mahmood Abbas is in talks with Hamas about forming a unity government and EU ministers said yesterday this could be the basis for new dialogue.
Any move to talk to Hamas, which is named on the EU terror list, could strain relations with Washington and Israel. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said that there was broad support in Europe for further talks with Syria to cement peace in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the European Commission announced yesterday that it had started social allowance payments to people in need in the Palestinian Territories.
The new allowances, which are worth about €270 each, will be made to those who have suffered a significant loss of income, such as pensioners and key staff, due to the financial crisis in the region. The payments will be made through the temporary international mechanism (TIM), which was developed by the European Commission when financial aid to the Hamas-led government was cut off earlier this year. More than 625,000 people are expected to benefit from the payments.