The Hindu : Front Page : Prime Minister for dialogue on Iran issue

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Sunday, Sep 17, 2006
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Prime Minister for dialogue on Iran issue

It is expected to figure prominently in summit discussions

Havana: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had an informal meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the venue of the inaugural ceremony of the 14th non-aligned summit here on Friday.

Official sources said Dr. Singh told Mr. Ahmadinejad that he looked forward to meeting him later during the summit.

This was an indication that the two leaders would have a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit.

Earlier, Dr. Singh said that the standoff over Iran's nuclear programme should be resolved through dialogue and not through any coercive action.

"If there are any doubts about Iran's nuclear programme, those doubts should be resolved through dialogue, through discussion, rather than coercive action," he told journalists accompanying him on a special Air India flight from Brasilia to Havana.

The Iran issue is expected to figure prominently in the discussions at the summit.

Media reports said NAM officials, at meetings preceding the summit, had finalised a resolution on Iran, which called for an ``unconditional resumption of dialogue'' to resolve the tense stand-off.

Dr Singh said he had not seen the draft resolution yet.

``I have stated on a number of occasions that Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Therefore, Iran must have all the rights that go with being a member of the NPT and it must also fulfil all obligations," he said.

The Iranian President met leaders of the G-15 at a summit here on Thursday and received their support on the nuclear issue.

The show of solidarity came as Washington called for sanctions against Iran, which has ignored an August 31 deadline by the United Nations to stop enriching uranium.

The NAM summit is expected to adopt a resolution, which would stress Iran's right to acquire and use nuclear energy and technology for peaceful purposes. Mr. Ahmadinejad told his counterparts that some countries were placing obstacles in the way of progress on the issue — a reference to the U.S.-led efforts to persuade Iran to stop producing enriched uranium.

On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here that his Government was prepared to resume the negotiations without any pre-conditions. Washington, however, insists that Tehran must first suspend the enrichment and reprocessing activities. — UNI

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