From rxpgnews.com
Iran accepts last-minute compromise in NPT talks
By DPA,
May 8, 2007 - 6:08:32 PM
Vienna, May 8 - In a surprise move, Iran on Tuesday accepted a compromise in the wording of the agenda of a meeting preparing for the renewal of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2010 to avert a collapse of the conference.
The development came as Iran approved a compromise proposed by South Africa.
Teheran had been blocking the meeting for almost a week and had refused to accept a passage on the agenda over 'reaffirming the need for full compliance with the NPT.'
Iran, which is facing UN sanctions for non-compliance with the NPT, said this phrase had been inserted to single out its nuclear activities as a point of criticism and excluded other issues.
After days of closed-door negotiations, Iran agreed to an 11th-hour compromise suggested by South Africa, inserting a footnote saying compliance with 'all provisions' of the treaty was required.
After this insertion, the agenda was adopted by consensus, preventing an early breakdown of the conference as feared by Japanese conference president Yukiya Amano.
A total of 130 out of 189 signatory states of the NPT are attending the Vienna conference, scheduled to continue until Friday.
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