BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

21/10/2006

Iran-Belarus foreign ministers assert on nuclear rights

ISNA - Tehran
Service: Foreign Policy

TEHRAN, Oct.21 (ISNA)-Iran's foreign minister stated that the West should return to negotiations and stop retesting already tested methods.

While noting that there were still peaceful methods of reaching an agreement, Iran's foreign minister, Manoucher Mottaki advised the West to return to the negotiations and stop testing already tested methods.

In a press conference that took place here this morning with the presence of the Belarusian Foreign Minister, Sergey Martinov about Iran's stances in case of any sanction by the West, Mottaki stated that Iran had always asserted on two clear options.

"The option of cooperation and the option of confrontation and we have always given the priority to the first one and we recognize negotiations as the basis of reaching a truly multidimensional agreement," he added.

"The Brussels talks were soon dismissed by some of the countries, they thought that they could impose their illegal wishes on Iran due to the certain circumstances in the region and unfortunately they stated this in the Security Council," stated Iran's foreign minister about recent talks with European countries.

"Despite the content and atmosphere of the talks and the concluded agreements in Vienna, the negotiations were not met effectively, but we think these talk could be continued," he added.

"As we have already mentioned we do not see the need to suspend our nuclear activities, it is totally Iran's right to work this out in the legal N.P.T. framework, but we are ready to argue to prove this right to the sides," he went on to say.

"The time for using the language of threat is long past and the West knows this too well, so we sincerely invite them to return to the talks because we believe there is still a peaceful solution to the issues," he concluded.

For his part, Belarusian Foreign Minister, Sergey Martinov stated that Belarus was a country that had been struggling to stop nuclear activities that led to producing nuclear weapons and it was a country that did not possess any kind of nuclear weapon today.

"Belarus believes that Iran has a right to continue its nuclear activities in the legal framework of the N.P.T.," he added.

"Without going against the N.P.T. and without being an international threat, the UN and therefore the Security Council cannot impose sanction on a country and this is clearly stated in the UN's charter," he concluded.

Source:

http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-810647&Lang=E