Iran's Reaction to the G8 Muskoka Leaders Declaration

Analytical Studies > Analysis on Muskoka Summit
G8 Summits > 2010 Muskoka Summit
G20 Summits

Sara Shearkhani
Senior Researcher, G8 Research Group
June 30, 2010

After the 2010 G8 Muskoka Summit, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that the G8 communiqué “is issued without regarding realities.”[1] He was referring to paragraphs 32 and 33 of the communiqué, which focuses on the Iranian nuclear issue and the human rights situation in the country. He stated that “while Iran has always announced its readiness for entering negotiations based on mutual respect and justice, the G8 claim[s] that it imposes sanctions against the Iranian nation so as to convince the country’s officials to enter negotiations is a baseless one.”[2] He also noted that while communiqué recognized the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929 as a matter of international concern, the G8’s silence about the Israel’s “crimes in attacking the Gaza-bound flotilla seems ridiculous” as does its “claim over Iran’s internal situation.” In addition, Mehmanparast “strongly condemned the Canadian police for arresting hundreds of protesters during the recent G20 summit in Toronto, describing the move as an inhuman act,” which he described as a “blatant breanch of basic rights of citizens to freedom of expression.”[3]

Furthermore, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that while Iran is prepared to reopen negotiations, it will delay returning to the negotiating table until August to punish the West for imposing new sanctions.[4] “Western and U.S. sanctions and threats are not only aimed at putting the brakes on Iran’s progress in nuclear technology,” he said, “but come to keep Iran from becoming an economic and industrial power.”[5] Ahmadinejad also stated that the condition for negotiation to G5+1 has changed.[6] “Iran’s new conditions, spelled out by President Ahmadinejad on Monday, calls for a clarified position on Israeli nuclear arms as well as the status of Iran in the negotiations and the inclusion of Turkey and Brazil in fuel exchange negotiations with the Vienna Group,” which Iranian foreign minister Manoucher Mottaki believes “are not conditions that they [G5+1] can reject.”[7]

Notes:
[1] G8 communiqué does not go with realities: Iran’s Mehmanparast. ISNA 29 June 2010. Date of Access: 30 June 2010. http://www.isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1565943&Lang=E
[2] Iran’s responds to the G8 statement. ILNA 29 June 2010. Date of Access: 30 June 2010. http://www.ilna.ir/fullstory.aspx?ID=132287
[3] Iran slams Canada human abuses. Press TV 29 June 2010. Date of Access: 30 June 2010. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=132565&sectionid=351020101
[4] Ahmadinejad says the West is in line for punishment. Dubai News 29 June 2010. Date of Access: 30 June 2010. http://www.dubainews.net/story/653148
[5] Ahmadinejad: Sanctions meant to stop Iran Progress. Al-Manar TV 28 June 2010. Date of Access: 30 June 2010. http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=144105&language=en
65] President sets Iran’s pre-conditions for N-talk with G5+1. Irib 28 June 2010. Date of Access: 30 June 2010. http://english.irib.ir/news/political/item/62721-president-sets-irans-pre-conditions-for-n-talks-with-g5%201
[7] Iran to enrich fuel only on needs-base. Press TV 29 June 2010. Date of Access: 30 June 2010. http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=132512&sectionid=351020104

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