BERLIN (AP) – Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that Germany and others in Europe need to consider what they can do to limit trade with Iran as they keep up pressure for a diplomatic solution of the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Merkel stressed after a weekend meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush that "we agreed we want to resolve, and also can resolve, diplomatically the problem of Iran’s nuclear program."
"That naturally requires the international community to stand together and also calls for us in Europe and in Germany … to consider again what we can still do to restrict trade," she said in an interview with ARD television. "I will speak to industry about this."
She noted that Germany already has "significantly restricted" export guarantees and said "we also must see that high-value technical goods are not delivered to Iran to make clear that we mean it seriously." Iran, she added, "must keep to the international rules of the game."
Germany, along with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, has been at the forefront of efforts to address concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.
The Security Council has demanded that Tehran suspend uranium enrichment ââ¬â a potential pathway both to generating nuclear power and creating the fissile core of warheads.
Iran could face further sanctions if upcoming reports by the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency do not show improved Iranian cooperation.
Merkel, who met Bush at his Texas ranch on Friday and Saturday, has made clear that Germany is ready to back tougher sanctions, but also that she is keen for a collective approach that keeps so-far skeptical Russia and China on board.
