SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR ASSAD SUPPORTS IRAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM - TWO-DAY TEHRAN VISIT
3 August 2008
Ahmadinejad talks with Assad in Teheran.
An Iranian unidentified translator is in the center.
Syrian President Bashar Assad concluded his two-day visit to Teheran on Sunday in which he expressed support for Iran’s nuclear program. He added that his country maintains that every state has the right to nuclear energy and research for peaceful purposes.
“Syria’s position is based on international treaties and agreements. Every country that is a member of the IAEA and that has signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, has the right to nuclear energy and the right to conduct research for peaceful purposes,” said Assad at a press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Assad addressed reports which claimed that he was asked by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to mediate in the Iranian nuclear standoff and said that his visit to Teheran was scheduled prior to the recent Mediterranean conference in Paris during which he met the French president. “I did not come on this visit as a mediator nor a messenger and I did not bring with me any messages from Western sources.”
Nonetheless, Assad said that the discussions in Teheran addressed Iran’s nuclear program, among other issues.
“When we attended the Paris conference, we clarified our position to the French in a direct manner. We emphasized that with regards to the Iranian nuclear program, the only solution is through dialogue. I came to Iran to get more details on the matter,” he said.
Ahmadinejad said at Sunday’s press conference that dialogue was the only avenue through which a solution could be found. The Iranian president added that his country was “serious” in pursuing dialogue with the West and expressed hope that the intention would be reciprocated.
The deadline imposed by Western powers on Iran to respond to an incentive package in return for halting its uranium enrichment expired over the week-end.
Earlier Sunday, Assad met with Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei told the Syrian president that he was “continuing in his father’s path, Hafez Assad and that the good relations between the two countries is an expression of this path.”
Iranian State TV’s website reported that Assad responded to Khamenei by saying that he was “happy that the meeting took place at a time when … we are witnessing great achievements on part of the Islamic resistance group in Lebanon and the strengthening of Hamas in Palestine, while witnessing the weakening of our enemies more than ever before.”
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