Iranian, German foreign ministers to meet Saturday

BERLIN, June 21 (Reuters) The foreign ministers of Germany and Iran will meet in Berlin on Saturday, weeks before the expiry of a deadline for Iran to respond to an offer of incentives if it suspends nuclear enrichment, Germany said today.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger told a government news conference that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki would discuss ''issues of multilateral interest''. He gave no further details.

Germany and the five permanent members of the U N Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia -- have offered Iran a package of incentives if it suspends its uranium enrichment programme, which could be used to make an atomic bomb.

If Tehran refuses, the so-called ''EU3'' and the United States have said they would push for U N sanctions if they have no reply by the July 15-17 summit of the Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations in St, Petersburg, Russia.

Iran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at the peaceful generation of electricity and refuses to suspend enrichment as demanded by the six powers. It has promised a reply to the offer by August 22, well after the G8 summit.

REUTERS SHR HT1940