Reported by Channel NewsAsia
:
Bar Iran from nuclear arms to avoid World War III:
Bush
Posted: 18 October 2007 0142 hrs
WASHINGTON : President George W. Bush on Wednesday warned Iran must
be barred from nuclear weapons to avoid the prospect of "World War
III," and dismissed suggestions of a US-Russia rift on the
crisis.
Bush intervened hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin made a
new proposal to end the nuclear crisis as he met Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for landmark talks in Tehran.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani meanwhile revealed he
would hold new talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on
Tuesday in Rome to search for a solution to the atomic
standoff.
Bush upped US rhetoric at a White House news conference, warning
the world must do more to isolate the Islamic Republic.
"We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to
destroy Israel," Bush said.
"So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World
War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing
them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear
weapon."
Iranian officials said Putin put forward a proposal to break the
deadlock over Iran's nuclear programme during his exhausting and
historic visit, but gave no further details.
Earlier, Putin and Ahmadinejad shook hands and smiled, as they met
for talks in Tehran.
"I'm looking forward to getting President Putin's read-out from the
meeting," Bush said.
"The thing I'm interested in is whether or not he continues to
harbour the same concerns that I do," Bush added.
Putin also held talks with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, and was quoted by state television as hoping for a "new
page" in Moscow's relations with the US foe.
Last week, Putin said after talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy of
France in Moscow that Russia had no information Iran was trying to
make a nuclear bomb.
"I look forward to having him clarify those (comments) Bush
said.
"Because when I visited with him, he (said he) understands that
it's in the world's interests to make sure that Iran does not have
the capacity to make a nuclear weapon."
The Russian president also called during a summit with Caspian
leaders for any prospect of foreign military action against Iran to
be ruled out.
Washington has repeatedly refused to take the military option off
the table, fuelling speculation on the chances of a US strike,
should diplomacy ultimately break down.
Only hours after Putin left Iran, its arch foe Israel announced
that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would visit Russia on Thursday for
what one official described as a "last-minute, urgent
meeting."
"The two intend to discuss a series of regional issues, including
the peace process with the Palestinians, Iran's threat and attempt
to acquire nuclear weapons, and developments in the region,"
Olmert's office said.
Israel is one of the leading campaigners against Iran's nuclear
ambitions along with its chief ally the United States, but is
widely regarded as the Middle East region's sole if undeclared
nuclear armed state.
Despite having failed to find a breakthrough in several meetings
over the past year, Larijani said he was set for the new talks with
Solana in Rome on Tuesday.
The key sticking point remains Iran's refusal to suspend uranium
enrichment, which the West fears could be diverted towards making a
nuclear bomb.
Iran insists it only wants to generate electricity and has
consistently refused to budge an inch on its right to the full
nuclear fuel cycle but has been slapped with two sets of UN
sanctions for its defiance.
Solana must report to major world powers Britain, France, Germany,
Russia, China and the United States before mid-November on Iran's
willingness to give up uranium enrichment in exchange for political
and trade incentives.
Bush also defended his personal style of diplomacy with the Russian
leader, against claims his approach downplayed what critics see as
an increasingly authoritarian style of government in the
Kremlin.
"I believe good diplomacy requires good relations at the leadership
level," Bush said, adding the approach meant he could bring up
contentious issues without rupturing state-to-state relations. -
AFP/de
