Group 5+1 urges Iran nuclear talks

Political directors of the Group 5+1 once again recognised Iran's right to a civilian nuclear program and invited the country to resume nuclear negotiations with the group. 

China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union met here on Wednesday to discuss Iran's nuclear issue following discussions among their leaders in recent days.

"The other members of the group warmly welcome the new direction of the US policy towards Iran and their decision to participate fully in the E3+3 (5+1) process," reads part of their statement received by IRNA.

The Group 5+1 also welcomed engagement in any future meetings with representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"We reaffirm our unity of purpose and collective determination through direct diplomacy to resolve our shared concerns about Iran's nuclear program, in line with the package proposals for cooperation with Iran and in the context of our dual-track strategy."

"We recognise once again that Iran has the right to a civilian nuclear program, but with that comes the responsibility to restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear activities in line with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions."

Representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany also urged Iran to "take advantage of this opportunity to engage seriously with all of us in a spirit of mutual respect."

"To that end, we shall ask Dr Javier Solana, the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, to extend an invitation to the Iranian Government to meet representatives of the E3+3, so that together we may find a diplomatic solution to this critical issue."