Brazil has no plans for new mediation on Iran

Reuters

Brazil will not make any new attempts to mediate between world powers and Tehran over its nuclear programme for now but still regards diplomacy as the best approach to solve the row, Brazil's foreign minister said.

Antonio Patriota, who took office on Jan. 1 in the new government led by Dilma Rousseff, said it was debatable whether sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, were having an impact on Tehran or would ultimately change its stance on uranium enrichment.

"I am in favour of diplomacy, of dialogue," Patriota told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday during a visit to Brussels to discuss foreign policy and trade. "It is debatable whether (sanctions) are producing a desirable effect."

Brazil has long advocated negotiations rather than sanctions as a means of addressing Western concerns that Iran's atomic programme is a cover to build a nuclear weapon. Iran says its uranium enrichment is for peaceful purposes.

Together with Turkey, Brazil brokered a compromise deal with Tehran last year which was rejected by Western powers for not going far enough in pressuring Iran, and angered the United States by voting against sanctions at the United Nations.

Patriota, 56, warned that any future negotiations could be complicated by progess Tehran has made so far in its nuclear work. But he said Brazil would hold back on any new initiatives.

"I think it would be a little bit too soon for us to undertake another attempt of the nature we took last year," he said. "But we are keeping channels open."

Political analysts have suggested that Patriota, a former Brazilian ambassador to the United States, could have a less confrontational foreign policy approach than his predecessor, Celso Amorim, particularly on an issue such as Iran.

Recent efforts by the six world powers -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- to negotiate with Iran have yielded little progress, with two-days of talks in Istanbul this month ending without a breakthrough.

Iran may now face the threat of even more stringent sanctions as the United States and others seek a way of exerting pressure on Tehran to halt its enrichment activities.

TRADE PROGRESS

Commenting on trade issues, which were part of his discussions with Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, Patriota said he was optimistic about progress in talks between the EU and South American trade bloc Mercosur.

Relaunched last May after a six-year break, the negotiations aim to create the world's largest free trade zone, with 750 million consumers. Brazil is a founding member of Mercosur.

"I am optimistic. I reaffirm (Brazil's commitment) to work seriously to overcome challenges," he said.