adminIran wants to end the standoff with global powers over its nuclear programme swiftly but will not sacrifice its rights or interests for the sake of a solution, President Hassan Rouhani has said.Meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a regional security summit yesterday, Rouhani said it was a good time for new steps to resolve the dispute over a programme Western states believe is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
“Regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, we want the swiftest solution to it within international norms,” Rouhani said at the meeting with Putin in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek.
“I declare that only if there is political will, if there is mutual respect and mutual interest, and only if the rights of Iran’s people are ensured, can we guarantee the peaceful character of Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Russia in the past has taken important steps in this sphere and now is the best opportunity for new steps from your side,” said Rouhani, whose country has observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, dominated by Russia and China.
The comments come two days after US ambassador Joseph MacManus to the UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA, said there had been “troubling developments” in Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran has been in on-off talks for years with six global powers seeking to ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons capability.
A solution has been elusive and the most recent talks, in April, ended without a breakthrough. — AP
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