Ashton Beginning Process for Nuclear Talks with Iran
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BRUSSELS (March 24, 2012) – Catherine Ashton, high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission, said she is in contact with Iranian officials to set the date and place for talks on Iran's nuclear program, adding that an announcement on those details could be anticipated soon. Ashton represents Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the United States in talks with Iran.
“We should be thinking of this as the beginning of a process. And, therefore, everyone should be aware that it will take time,” she said at Brussels Forum. “We'll be looking to ensure that what is being put before us, if you like, is a real willingness to have a sustained process.”
Ashton participated in a panel discussion to open the second day of Brussels Forum, an annual conference on transatlantic relations organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States that is attended by heads of state, officials from the EU institutions and member states, U.S. officials, congressional representatives, parliamentarians, and academics.
The first panel of the morning dealt with the Middle East and Arab world in the wake of the uprisings. Mahmoud Gebril, former prime minister of Libya, expressed concern that the West has forgotten his country. “It is a fatal mistake to abandon Libya,” he said. “When the regime fell down, the state fell down as well. But the moment the regime fell down, everyone disappeared.”
Ashton disagreed with that characterization, saying that development assistance “is never fast enough, and there’s never any doubt we can do more and do it better, but the commitment is absolutely there.”
With regard to Syria, Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota governor and co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, said that the West should take more steps than just sanctions to encourage a change of government. “Assad is trying to kill his way to victory,” he said. “The time has come for more direct assistance to opposition forces, short of boots on the ground.”
Both Ashton and Gebril stressed the need for unity among the Syrian opposition groups. “The lack of unity has created a real challenge for the United Nations,” Ashton said.
Amine Pierre Gemayel, a former president of Lebanon, proposed a longer-range plan for spreading democracy throughout the Middle East. “Why don't we implement a new Marshall Plan,” Gemayel said, referring to U.S. efforts to rebuild Europe following World War II, “to focus on not just economic development but focus on spreading a new culture, a new accountable governance.”
In a panel discussion dealing with the recovery from the economic crisis, discussants agreed that human resources are the most important component to economic growth. Steven Vanackere, Belgium's deputy prime minister and minister for finance and sustainable development, said “The real infrastructure is the talent of people and the education system.” U.S. Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH) agreed, saying that “government doesn’t create jobs, government provides an environment in which jobs can be created.”
During the same panel, Robert Hormats, U.S. under secretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment, called for the United States and Europe to work more closely together on economic issues. “We need to make sure we together have the highest standards in the world,” he said, to open transatlantic trade and eventually pass those standards on to other nations. Wilfried Porth, member of the board of management of Daimler AG, disagreed with that approach, saying “competition for the highest standards kills economies.”
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Brussels Forum is an annual conference on transatlantic relations organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and attended by heads of state, officials from the EU institutions and member states, U.S. officials, congressional representatives, parliamentarians, and academics. Major support for Brussels Forum comes from Daimler and the Federal Authorities of Belgium. Additional sponsors include BP and OCP Foundation. Further support comes from the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia, the European Union Delegation to the United States, the European Liberal Forum, the Centre for European Studies, BNP Paribas Fortis, NATO, the Republic of Turkey Ministry for EU Affairs, and Intesa Sanpaolo.
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