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KRANJ, Slovenia-Opening a farewell tour of Europe, President Bush won European support on Tuesday to consider additional punitive sanctions against Iran, including restrictions on its banks, if Iran rejects a package of incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment program.Iran’s leaders, the Mr. Bush said, “can either face isolation, or they can have better relations with all of us if they verifiably suspend their enrichment program.”Mr. Bush was speaking at a news conference after what was billed as his final summit meeting with European officials before his term ends in January. The meeting was held in the same small mountainous country as he chose for his first foray into Europe as president seven years ago.It was, he said, a “fitting circle” to return to Slovenia. One day he would return as a tourist, he said. “You know, I’m close to retirement.”A joint statement after the meeting urged Iran to “comply with its international obligations concerning its nuclear activities.”The communiqué coincided with heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program since the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna registered “serious concern” last month about Tehran’s suspected research into the development of nuclear weapons.The issue became more immediate following a warning by Israel’s transportation minister, Shaul Mofaz, that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites would be “unavoidable” if weapons programs proceed.Mr. Bush expressed sympathy for Israeli concerns about Iran’s intentions, telling a questioner at the news conference: “If you were living in Israel, you could be a little nervous, too."But, despite talk of a military option, both in Israel and Washington, Mr. Bush said he hoped to “leave behind a multilateral framework to resolve this issue” after he steps down.He also indicated he believed there was time to reach a climate change agreement before January.There are wide differences between the European Union and the United States on climate change. The European Union has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent within the next 12 years. But the United States is pressing for a global agreement embracing measures to curb pollution by fast-growing economies such as China and India as well as by developed economies.On Iran, the joint statement urged Tehran to restore international confidence in its nuclear program and said it must provide the I.A.E.A. with “full disclosure of any weapons-related work.”The statement reaffirmed Western commitments to a “dual-track strategy,” employing the threat of punitive sanctions along with incentives to Iran.However, the statement said, “we are ready to supplement those sanctions with additional measures,” promising “to take steps to ensure Iranian banks cannot abuse the international banking system to support proliferation and terrorism.” It did not spell out the details of the proposed banking measures.An administration official said the statement held out the prospect of new sanctions rather than imminent new action against Tehran.At the news conference, held with Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, and Prime Minister Janez Jansa of Slovenia, Mr. Bush warned that if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon, “the free world is going to say, why didn’t we do something about it at the time, before they developed it? And so now is the time for there to be strong diplomacy.”
Iran “can’t be trusted with enrichment,” he said.“The fundamental question — is not ours to make, it’s theirs to make — and that is, are they going to continue on their path of obstruction,” he said of Iran’s leaders. Slovenia, the host of the summit meeting, was once part of the former Yugoslavia. It sees itself as the most stable and prosperous of Balkan nations and holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation European Union until July.“My first trip to Europe as president began in Slovenia,” Mr. Bush said, recalling a celebrated moment there in 2001 when he first met Vladimir V. Putin, who was president of Russia at the time. At that meeting, Mr. Bush said he had looked into the Russian leader’s eyes and gotten “a sense of his soul.”On Tuesday, he mused, “And my last trip as president to Europe...” but did not complete the sentence.Mr. Bush arrived in Slovenia at the start of a European tour that will take him to Berlin, Rome, Paris, London and Belfast, Northern Ireland. The brief encounter with European Union leaders Tuesday was part of an effort to persuade them to adopt a stronger line toward Iran.Three European countries — Britain, France and Germany — are at the forefront of European diplomacy on Iran and Mr. Bush is seeking their endorsement of stronger United Nations sanctions. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, is to travel to Tehran this weekend.Mr. Bush was also likely to debate global warming and other issues before flying to Berlin for dinner Tuesday with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.One item on the agenda in Slovenia addressed the activities of the Transatlantic Economic Council, which was formed a year ago to promote economic cooperation in areas such as regulatory and accounting practices.An issue that has arisen — and is seen as a test case for the council — relates to the European Union’s ban on imports of American poultry. The ban has been in force for 11 years, provoked by European objections to the American practice of washing chickens and other poultry in chlorinated water. American officials are hoping that if that dispute can be resolved, so can other trade differences.
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and ALAN COWELL
As in the days of Noah....
