Saturday 9 November 2013

Lessons Being Learned In Geneva

The fact that there has been a stampede of foreign ministers to Geneva is a sign that the nuclear talks with Iran are going well, they wouldn't be there for the photo opportunity if nothing was going to come from it.
Israel is unsurprisingly annoyed that the Iranians are being talked to and not bombed but as Israeli dealings with Palestine have shown, the Israel Government are not interested in negotiating.  
There were not supposed to be any foreign ministers there at all but things have reportedly gone so well that talks have continued for a further unscheduled day and John Kerry has put off a planned trip to Morocco and Algeria while Iranian journalists were told to delay flights back to Tehran.
The news from Geneva is that the talks have got to an advanced stage that the sticking point is just agreement on the wording of a joint statement laying out a roadmap which sees Iran not enriching any uranium above 20% which will roll back some of the sanctions against it with a review in 6 months where the removal of further sanctions will be actioned.   
British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said last night: 'We are very conscious that some real momentum has built up in these negotiations. There is now a real concentration on these negotiations. So we have to seize the moment to reach a deal that has eluded the world for a very long time'.
Hopefully, this is a historic moment where the likes of the US and UK finding that more jaw-jaw and less of the  war-war which has been their foreign policy for the past 60 years and almost buried their economies in the process is the right way to go from now on.
It may also show Israel that stamping it's foot and threatening others is not only the action of a spoilt child but will bring attention on its own oppressive and illegal actions and drive a wedge between them and the few friends they have left.

No comments: