February 07, 2007	Wednesday	Muharram 18, 1428

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 6: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that the door remains open for negotiations between Iran and the international community over its contested nuclear programme.

“Even if the United Nations has decided on sanctions, the door for negotiations remains open,” Ms Merkel said at a joint press conference with Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

“I hope that reason will prevail and that we will be able to hold talks again,” added Merkel, whose country currently holds the rotating European Union presidency.

The premier of Kuwait also stressed the importance of going back to negotiations over Tehran's nuclear drive.

“It is important now to have unconditional negotiations. We have to sit down at the negotiating table and talk openly and without conditions,” he said.

“It is absolutely necessary to have peace in the region.” EU foreign ministers agreed in January to implement the full raft of UN sanctions against Iran to punish Tehran for failing to meet international demands over its nuclear programme.

Ms Merkel was in Kuwait after a stop in the United Arab Emirates where she met Emirati President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan on Monday as part of talks with Gulf leaders on international efforts to revive the Middle East peace process.

—AFP