Europe to offer Iran 'diplomatic solution' to conflict, Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, June 20, said France and other European powers would make an offer to Iran of a comprehensive diplomatic solution to end the escalating conflict with Israel.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot will later Friday meet Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva "to make a complete diplomatic and technical offer for negotiations," Macron told reporters, adding that France and allies Germany and the UK were "putting a diplomatic solution on the table."
"Iran must show that it is willing to join the platform for negotiations we are putting on the table," Macron said on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget outside the French capital. "It is essential to prioritize a return to substantive negotiations [with Iran] which include nuclear − to move to zero enrichment [by Iran of uranium] ballistics, to limit Iranian capacities, and the financing of all the terrorist groups that destabilize the region," Macron said. He added that the offer to be made by Barrot and his German and UK counterparts to Araghchi later Friday would have four aspects.
'Existential risk'
The first would foresee a resumption of work by the UN atomic agency, with "the capacity to go to all the sites," so that Iran moves to zero enrichment of uranium, Macron said. The second and third aspects would comprise oversight of Iran's ballistics activities and how it finances proxies in the region, he added. The fourth would be the liberation of "hostages" by Iran, said Macron, referring to the foreigners jailed by the Islamic republic who include two French citizens.
Macron said that "no-one should neglect the risk that an Iran with nuclear weapons would present," adding that the Islamic republic presented an "existential risk" for Israel. But the French president also criticized the scope of the military action by Israel which has hit targets beyond nuclear and ballistics facilities. "I consider that strikes that hit civilian or energy facilities and hit civilian populations must absolutely stop. Nothing justifies this."
Macron also warned Israel that military action alone would not be sufficient to degrade the Iranian nuclear program. "No one seriously thinks that this risk [posed by the Iranian atomic drive] can be responded to only through the operations that are currently underway," he said. "There are facilities that are extremely well protected, we do not know exactly where the uranium enriched to 60% is."
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