Aug 3, 2006 9:23 am US/Central
Iran's President Voices New Optimism
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) ―
Iran's president expressed optimism Thursday that the dispute over his country's nuclear program can be resolved through talks, despite mounting impatience with his rejection of U.N. Security Council demands to suspend uranium enrichment.
Underlining the international concern, one of Iran's leading trade partners, Russia, issued a statement Thursday telling the Tehran regime it must respect the council's Aug. 31 deadline to stop enrichment.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the way to solve the dispute is through talks.
"From the beginning, we have said that we have desire for dialogue and negotiations," Ahmadinejad told reporters during a meeting of Muslim leaders in Malaysia.
"In the shadow of negotiations, it is possible to settle any dispute. It is possible to settle all the issues," he added, speaking through an interpreter.
The Security Council passed a resolution Monday calling for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment by Aug. 31 or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.
Enrichment can produce fuel for nuclear reactors that generate electricity, which is what Iran says is its goal. But the process also can produce material for making nuclear bombs, which is what the United States and other nations fear is Tehran's real aim.
Ahmadinejad said Iran was still considering a package offered by the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany in early June that includes economic incentives and a provision for Washington to offer Iran some nuclear technology, lift some sanctions and join direct talks.
"We have said that we will consider the European package, and still we are in the process of consideration," he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, issued a terse statement reminding Ahmadinejad's government that as a U.N. member, Iran is obligated to implement Security Council resolutions.
"We are counting on Iran to heed the appeals made to it so that no further actions by the U.N. Security Council will be required," the statement said.
The statement apparently reflected increasing impatience in the Kremlin over Iran's lack of progress in addressing international suspicions about its nuclear ambitions.
Russia and China, both veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council that have strong commercial ties with Iran, have so far resisted Western proposals to impose sanctions on Tehran.
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