VIENNA, June 21: US President George W. Bush said on Wednesday Iran was taking too long to respond to an offer of incentives to halt nuclear work, and urged it to reply within weeks.

Responding to a suggestion by Iran that it would respond to the major powers’ proposals by Aug 22, President Bush said: “It should not take the Iranians that long to analyse what is a reasonable deal. I said weeks, not months.”

President Bush was speaking at a news conference in Vienna after a summit with leaders of the European Union which, together with Russia and China, has backed President Bush in his drive to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear arsenal.

President Bush hoped in Vienna to ensure the threat of punishment remains strong if Iran does not abandon nuclear enrichment in return for the offer of incentives made on June 6.

“We have agreed that if Iran decides not to engage in negotiations, further steps would be taken in the Security Council. We urge Iran to take the positive path,” the EU and United States said in a joint statement after their talks.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, whose country holds the EU presidency, said: “It is better we agree as soon as possible. Time is limited. We should not play with time.”

Six powers — the United States, Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia — have set an informal deadline of mid-July, when a Group of Eight industrial nations summit is planned.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said shortly before President Bush spoke that Tehran would respond by Aug 22.

Western diplomats have said Iran’s hesitation to respond may be a stalling manoeuvre aimed at buying time to expand its nuclear fuel enrichment programme.

Diplomats said the delay was more a sign of debate within a complex Iranian power structure over how to respond.

President Bush also warned North Korea against test-firing its long-range Taepodong-2 missile, saying it must abide by international agreements.

The EU said in a statement that such a test would be “deeply regrettable” and a provocative act.

President Bush and EU leaders, including European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, underlined the improvement in ties since strains that appeared over the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“I fully understand we have had our differences on Iraq. I can understand the difficulties but what’s past is past and what is ahead is a hopeful democracy in the Middle East,” President Bush said.

The summit touched on differences between the US and Europe on the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba and US visa requirements for many eastern European countries.

The EU and Washington also expressed concern about “recent developments” in Russia and vowed to work with Moscow to promote energy security, the application of the rule of law, an independent judiciary and full respect for human rights.

CONFERENCE CALL: Senior officials representing the major powers on Wednesday reaffirmed in a conference call that Iran should respond to their nuclear proposal within weeks not months, the US State Department said.

The phone call involving the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China took place after Iran said it would respond by Aug. 22 to the international package, spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.

He said the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany agreed they had made a ‘very good offer to Iran and we all urge Iran to accept that proposal’.

They also ‘reiterated a common view ... (that) we expect a response within weeks, not months” dating from when the offer was first made on June 1, Mr Ereli said.

The major powers fear Iran will use enriched uranium in nuclear warheads, not just power stations, a charge Tehran denies. Iran has hailed the package as a step forward, but has insisted upon its right to produce its own nuclear fuel. The major powers have insisted Iran halt uranium enrichment before negotiations on the package begin. —Reuters