EU Urges India to Influence Iran on Nuclear Program

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (C) with European Council president Herman Van Rompuy (R) and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso (L) during a press conference at the India EU summit in New Delhi, India, 10 February 2012. EPA/BGNES

The European Union has asked New Delhi to use its influence to draw Iran back into talks over its disputed nuclear ambitions, Indian TV channels said on Friday.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy expressed his concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions at an EU-India summit in New Delhi.

The call came after New Delhi announced earlier this month it would send a large business delegation to Tehran to exploit trade opportunities created by the United States and European sanctions, RIA Novosti reported.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said on Friday the EU and India were close to reaching an agreement on a long-delayed free trade pact.

Van Rompuy said India and the European Union disagreed on the issue of sanctions against Iran, but that both wanted talks to resume on the nuclear issue.

Western nations suspect Iran, which is already under four sets of UN Security Council sanctions, of pursuing what they believe is a secret nuclear weapons program but Tehran insists it needs nuclear power solely for civil purposes.

Tensions over Iran's nuclear activities have reached a boiling point since the Islamic Republic has announced that it had launched a nuclear enrichment program at a well-protected underground facility near the city of Qom.

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