ID :
131118
Sat, 07/03/2010 - 11:39
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http://m.oananews.org//node/131118
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Rejection of Tehran Declaration ‘unwise,’ warns former NPT advisor
London, July 3, IRNA – Former prime minister Gordon Brown’s advisor on non-proliferation has criticised the West’s response to the Tehran Declaration as “deeply unwise.”
“Instead of taking it seriously and suggesting that a further negotiation might bring about a real move by Iran towards putting most of her low-enriched uranium into safe situations, the West simply dismissed it,” Baroness Shirley Williams said.
It was “as if it were somehow an inappropriate intervention by those two great countries” of Brazil and Turkey,” Williams said in a debate on Britain’s foreign policy on Thursday.
She said it was “deeply unwise” for the West to dismiss the attempt made by two of the leading non-nuclear countries about Iran’s proposal for refining nuclear material.
“It was a bad example” of Foreign Secretary William Hague’s admission that British foreign policy has to come to terms with the steady shift of power and influence in the world, the former Liberal Democrat president told fellow peers in the House of Lords.
“We must start taking those countries seriously and show that we are doing so. That does not mean accepting everything they say, but it means looking with great attention and care at what they propose,” she said.
During the debate, the West’s attitude towards the fuel exchange agreement was further criticised by the former leader of Northern Ireland’s non-partisan Alliance Party, Lord Alderdice, who suggested the UK does not have to always agree with the US.
“It seems to me that this was a constructive approach and that it was extremely foolish of us to dismiss and disregard it, not just in terms of what that means for dealing with Iran but for our relationship with Turkey,” Alderdice said.
“We do not have to agree all the time with those with whom we have a special relationship, nor do we need to regard all our relationships within the European Union as being the same,” the former speaker of Northern Ireland’s Assembly also said.
The Tehran Declaration was signed by Turkey and Brazil in a ground-breaking fuel exchange agreement reached with Iran based on last October’s offer sponsored by the US and brokered through the Vienna Group.
Williams, a former cabinet minister, has also previously criticised the British government’s refusal to delay controversial plans to renew the UK’s Trident nuclear missile system.
“The future of Trident should be discussed in the context of President Obama’s objectives, the safeguarding, reduction and ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons,” she said in April./end
“Instead of taking it seriously and suggesting that a further negotiation might bring about a real move by Iran towards putting most of her low-enriched uranium into safe situations, the West simply dismissed it,” Baroness Shirley Williams said.
It was “as if it were somehow an inappropriate intervention by those two great countries” of Brazil and Turkey,” Williams said in a debate on Britain’s foreign policy on Thursday.
She said it was “deeply unwise” for the West to dismiss the attempt made by two of the leading non-nuclear countries about Iran’s proposal for refining nuclear material.
“It was a bad example” of Foreign Secretary William Hague’s admission that British foreign policy has to come to terms with the steady shift of power and influence in the world, the former Liberal Democrat president told fellow peers in the House of Lords.
“We must start taking those countries seriously and show that we are doing so. That does not mean accepting everything they say, but it means looking with great attention and care at what they propose,” she said.
During the debate, the West’s attitude towards the fuel exchange agreement was further criticised by the former leader of Northern Ireland’s non-partisan Alliance Party, Lord Alderdice, who suggested the UK does not have to always agree with the US.
“It seems to me that this was a constructive approach and that it was extremely foolish of us to dismiss and disregard it, not just in terms of what that means for dealing with Iran but for our relationship with Turkey,” Alderdice said.
“We do not have to agree all the time with those with whom we have a special relationship, nor do we need to regard all our relationships within the European Union as being the same,” the former speaker of Northern Ireland’s Assembly also said.
The Tehran Declaration was signed by Turkey and Brazil in a ground-breaking fuel exchange agreement reached with Iran based on last October’s offer sponsored by the US and brokered through the Vienna Group.
Williams, a former cabinet minister, has also previously criticised the British government’s refusal to delay controversial plans to renew the UK’s Trident nuclear missile system.
“The future of Trident should be discussed in the context of President Obama’s objectives, the safeguarding, reduction and ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons,” she said in April./end
