US, W. Europe will Talk to Iran; Russia Warns against Attack, Sanctions

The US and its European allies have agreed to hold talks with Iran. This step is a major change, since although the UK, France and Germany have been talking with Tehran, the Bush administration practiced aggressive ostrichism (sticking one’s head in the sand and refusing to recognize an enemy, even while making aggressive gestures).

Meanwhile, Russian PM Vladimir Putin warned against any attack on Iran, which he called “unacceptable” and said it would produce an explosion of terrorism. (Note: Russia is very close to Iran in the Caucasus). He even went so far as to reject any tightening of sanctions on Iran. These are the strongest words I’ve seen from Russia on the issue of an Israeli or American attack on Iran. I take it Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent secret visit to Moscow went badly.

The head of the French military said Friday that it is too late to forestall Iranian nuclear research with mere bombs.

Aljazeera English reports on Iran’s proposals:

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