Iran determined to resolve nuclear issue in "short time": president

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Iran determined to resolve nuclear issue in "short time": president

(Xinhua) 09:38, October 08, 2013

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TEHRAN, Oct. 7 -- Iran is determined to resolve the nuclear dispute in a "short period of time," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Monday.

Iran has the legitimate right to pursue nuclear energy under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and is ready to remove international concerns in its talks with the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany), Rouhani was quoted by official IRNA news agency as saying during a meeting with new Ambassador of the Netherlands to Tehran Johannes Douma.

He expressed hope that Iran's relations with member states of the European Union, including the Netherlands, would be improved in economic, cultural and political areas.

He criticized the sanctions against Iran, saying that it has affected the lives of the ordinary people.

For his part, Douma said the Netherlands is interested in promotion of all-out cooperation with Iran.

On the same day, Rouhani also urged Germany to play a positive role in solving dispute over Tehran's nuclear program, according to Press TV.

In a meeting with new German Ambassador to Tehran Michael Baron von Ungern, Rouhani expressed hope that Germany would play a " positive and constructive role" at the upcoming Geneva talks to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

Tehran seeks to exercise its right to nuclear energy under international law, said Rouhani.

The foreign ministers of the P5+1 and Iran met in New York last month and agreed to resume negotiations on Iran's nuclear standoff in Geneva on Oct. 15-16.

Iran insists on nuclear enrichment as its "right for peaceful nuclear activities." However, the West suspects that the Iranian nuclear enrichment program may be used to develop weapon-grade activities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said Sunday that the world leaders should think about new proposals for the upcoming nuclear talks.

He said that "the previous proposals by the P5+1 belong to history and they should attend the upcoming talks with new proposals."

The P5+1 and Iran met two times in Almaty, Kazakhstan in February and April. Their talks ended without tangible results.

They asked Iran to suspend its high-grade uranium enrichment and close down the underground bunker of Fordow where Iran enriches uranium to 20 percent. In return, they offered to relieve some of the sanctions on Iran's petrochemical industry and its trade in precious metals. However, Iran did not accept the proposal, urging the powers to completely lift the sanctions.