By Louis Charbonneau
Berlin - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Thursday he had failed to reach a deal with the chief Iranian negotiator on Tehran's nuclear ambitions, but said they would hold another round of talks soon.
Several Western diplomats who were briefed on Solana's talks with Larijani said the Iranians were still refusing to commit to suspending their uranium enrichment programme and said Larijani appeared to be trying to drag out talks with Solana.
"We have been progressing," Solana told reporters after discussions with Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani.
"We still have some issues that have not been closed," he added without elaborating. Solana said he hoped to renew contact with the Iranians by the middle of next week.
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Solana's comments appeared to indicate that prospects of a swift resolution were fading, a day after the US State Department had said time was running out for a deal.
An EU source acknowledged that the talks were not moving swiftly. "The motion is very slow," the source said.
In June the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China offered Tehran a package of economic and political incentives if it suspended uranium enrichment, which the West believes is part of a nuclear weapons programme.
Tehran says its uranium enrichment activities are aimed solely at generating electricity and has refused to halt them.
If Iran does not suspend enrichment, the United States and the "EU3" have agreed to ask the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic. China and Russia oppose sanctions and would prefer to re-open negotiations with Iran.
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