US AND IRAN AT GENEVA:VIEW FROM FRANCE

Le Monde (October 1, 2009)

American and Iranian Gestures In Advance Of The Nuclear Meeting.
Less than a week after the dramatic and brusque revelation of the Iranian nuclear “dossier”. The Obama administration has made gestures of good will in the prelude to the Council of Six great powers meeting (US, China, Russia, Germany, France, and the UK) with, Iran on Thursday first of October in Geneva.

According to the Dept of State, Barak Obama has given authorization to his negotiator, political director William Burns, to meet with his Iranian counterpart, Said Jalili, on the side of the plenary session, if he wishes. That is not the first time that Mr. Burns has participated in a meeting with the Iranian delegation, but it the first time he has the authority to speak directly, head-head, with a fortiari (even stronger) authority and engage in direct dialog.

The administration has also authorized the (Iranian) minister of foreign affairs Manoucheher Mottaki, who is assigned to New York at the UN, to come to Washington to visit the Iranian-interest-section of the Pakistani delegation, (which functions to represent Iran) in absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Such a visit has not been put in place for the last ten years.

The spokesman of the Department of State Philip Crowley, has called this a “coincidence”. Responding to this question, on the eve of the Geneva meeting, (as to why) the administration has provided the visa. “If this is taken as a small gesture and might contribute to making (the meeting) much more (successful), that is excellent”, he added.

Mottaki has not met with the Americans, but he has given an interview on public radio (NPR). The opponents of the dialogue suggest that his visit plays a part in an attempt by the Iranian regime to restore legitimacy, by showing a de-escalation (of tensions) with Washington.
On the other hand, in Teheran, the Swiss ambassador, who represents the interests of the Americas, has received authorization to make a visit to the three Americans arrested in early August in Kurdistan.

In Geneva, where the Swizz authorities have had a preview of the major questions in front of a flood of journalists, diplomats and observers, and where the Americans released on Thursday (a list) of their objectives. The first task: “Establish if the Iranians are ready to engage on the nuclear issue.” Other priorities: That Iran permit “complete access and without hindrance” to the clandestine Qum site, to full revelation, as has been demanded by the AIEA.
The Council of Six wish to obtain gestures (from Iran) that (will) “build confidence”. The proposition which has been on the table for a long time is called “freeze for freeze”, which envisions an intermediary period in advance of suspension of enrichment, and is the “point of departure” of all negotiations, has stated an American official.

This new stage in the (Iranian) dossier is opposed by some American experts. Some such as Flynt and Hillary Leverett, members of the National Security Council under George Bush, plead for a “grand bargain”, a global accord which seemed to be the wish of the Iranians in 2003.
The others such as Gary Milhollin and Valery Lincy of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, suspect Iran of possessing a clandestine “nuclear archipelago” and (they) call for the allies to demand that Iran release all the plans of its installations. The neo-conservatives, as well as the Republican John McCain are coming back to the idea that “change of regime” is more necessary than ever.

Le Monde: Corine Lesnes
Translated: rjk (Oct 1, 2009)