Nuclear talks in Istanbul on Saturday ended without any agreement.  Western diplomats don’t want to call it a breakdown, but rather a “pause” in the process.

Unlike the last round of discussions last December in Geneva, these talks ended without a decision to reconvene.  But as the spokesperson for the P5+1 (U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China), Baroness Catherine Ashton put it, “our proposals remain on the table.  Our telephone lines are open.  The door is still open.”

Clearly though, the process was a disappointment for the P5+1.

Lady Ashton said, “This is not the conclusion I had hoped for.  We had hoped to embark on a discussion of practical ways forward and to have every effort to make that happen.  I’m disappointed to say that this has not been possible.”

The P5+1 went into these meetings with low expectations, but hopes, that Iran might agree to revive the idea of shipping out the bulk of its stockpile of enriched uranium, which could potentially be further worked over and used for a bomb, have that uranium reconfigured into fuel rods for a research reactor in Tehran it uses to make medical isotopes, and then sent back to Iran for this clear and needed application.  That could give the two sides an area of cooperation on a specific project related to its nuclear program, and it would dispel fears of what Iran might try to do with all its enriched uranium.  The other goal for the group was to get Iran to agree to provide greater transparency about its nuclear program.  The P5+1 believes, as a unified group, they made these points very clearly, but that Iran blocked any of this from coming to fruition by throwing up preconditions.

A Senior U.S. Administration Official said, “We laid out a number of steps that could build confidence, both with regard to the Tehran Research Reactor and with regard to potential transparency measures that could enhance the IAEA’s ability to make judgements about Iran’s nuclear program.  In response to that, and after many hours of conversations, Iran, as Lady Ashton said, presented preconditions with regard to their right to enrich and the lifting of sanctions that were unacceptable.  Each of the P5+1 members made clear that we can’t agree to a process that is based on these preconditions.”

But while the P5+1 has to a certain degree shifted its approach, in terms of not demanding a halt to enrichment right away, but seeking ways to get to that point, Iran remains firm that it will not heed the demand to stop enrichment which remains implicit in the overall program of the P5+1.  And it so far refuses to budge as long as that demand lies at the heart of the UN Security Council Resolutions that have been passed against it.

Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili said, “Respecting the rights of nations is not a recommendation but a requirement.  If, instead of common logic other instruments are used, it’s not a dialogue but a dictation.”

Again, while the door remains open, further dialogue may happen via different channels, not the big set-piece talks we have seen in the past.  Western diplomats insisted today Iran’s nuclear file is still an urgent issue, and while the P5+1 intends to keep up the pressure on Iran to enter into what it calls serious negotiations, the group will not specify which further steps—most likely thought to be sanctions– it plans to impose.